morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2019-06-03
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Even though we went to bed at 10:30, I woke up at 5:30 when it started getting light, just like on the trail.  I was, however, able to pad across the carpeted floor to use the bathroom in the house instead of having to walk through dewy weeds to a smelly privy! I was wide awake so I sat up in bed and balanced my checkbook for the first time in two weeks, read my Bible, and worked a couple Cross Sums. John had brought groceries from home so I got up and had bacon, a fried egg, an English muffin with jelly, OJ, and milk for breakfast.  I put our wet clothes from yesterday into the washer.  Then I went back to sleep for an hour.  By then Susan was up and eating so we began going through the stuff we had brought in from the truck so we could organize our next two weeks.  We realized John had not brought any of her boxes of resupply.  Somehow he left them at our home even though they were right next to my boxes of stuff.  We both decided to go back to sleep again, but planned to go shopping later in the day.I had a nice second nap, dried and folded our clothes, and relaxed on the couch with my puzzle book.  I soaked my feet in Epsom salts while shaving my legs for the first time in two and a half weeks.  Later we made a trip to Walmart for Susan to resupply.  John grilled steaks and corn for supper and we had watermelon, baked potatoes and broccoli to go with it.  Jon the Airbnb owner came over and brought us a jar of honey just harvested the day before from their hives.  How nice!It was an easy relaxing day in a comfortable Airbnb.  I got to talk on the phone with Mom, Natalie, Joel, and Matt.
Date: 2019-06-04
From: PA225 North of Duncannon PA

To: Duncannon PA
Miles today: 6.3
Weather: light rain

John left about 6:30 to golf.  I sorted out my food and supplies for the next two weeks.  After a late breakfast and John's return, we made another stop at the grocery store, finished packing our resupply boxes, and mailed them at the post office.  John dropped us at the trailhead north of Duncannon at PA225 so we could hike south into town.  It was fairly level at first, but rocky, with some actual rock scrambling.  There  were steep downhill switchbacks and a mile or so walking on bridges over the Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers.When we met John in town, we drove to the infamous Doyle Hotel, a trail icon.  Vicky had cut her iconic long gray braids and now had a short haircut.  I had sweet potato fries and a cheeseburger.  John was not impressed with the Doyle at all and ate nothing.Back at the Airbnb, we showered and repacked our backpacks.  We began packing all the kitchen stuff John had brought from home and loading the truck so we could get an early start in the morning.
Date: 2019-06-05
From: PA225 North of Duncannon PA

To: Yellow Springs campsite
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: overcast clouds

We were up by 6:00.  We ate breakfast and finished packing and loading the truck.  We signed the Airbnb guestbook and left by 7:30 and were at the trailhead by 8:15. By 8:30 we had said our goodbyes and John was headed south to home while we were headed north on the AT with full backpacks. The trail was fairly easy to begin the day.  We knocked out 5.1 miles with our full packs in 2:10 and then stopped for a little snack break.Twice today a military helicopter has flown overhead.  It was extremely  loud.  The first one was just barely above the treetops directly over us.  I wonder if they are looking for someone or just doing training exercises.We leapfrogged today with one young woman, a couple of young guys, and one single guy.  Except for one slightly uphill two mile stretch in the afternoon, the trail was moderately level and easy, but rocky. We had a nice lunch spot in a gravel parking lot by PA325 and Clark¢s Creek.  It¢s always nice to sit and listen to the water.  A nice young man walked out of the woods up to his car there while we were eating and we chatted.  He was a local realtor and years ago had hiked sobo from Katahdin to here.  Now he is married with two little girls.  He had just been in the area today and stopped to walk into the woods for a few minutes.  He gladly took our little trash bags when we asked; that meant we have a few ounces less to carry.We got to the Yellow Springs campsites about 6:30.  Only one other girl was there, already in her tent with her food bag hung in a tree.  We set up our tents, fixed our food and ate, and hung our food bags.  The mosquitoes were bad so we were in our tents for the night by 8:00.  There was no phone service at this site.The next two days are scheduled to be 18 miles and 19.2 miles, in order to get to shelters. If we can¢t go that far,  we¢ll pick a stealth campsite along the trail somewhere.  Then the third day will be 9 miles into the town of Hamburg, a hotel stay at Microtel, and resupply boxes.
Date: 2019-06-06
From: Yellow Springs campsite

To: William Penn Shelter
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: clear sky

This day was our 38th wedding anniversaryIt finally happened.  Susan got up about 3:00 to go to the bathroom in the woods and got turned around.  She didn¢t make it back to camp until after 5:00.  Since she was up with adrenaline flowing, we got dressed, packed up, and were on the trail at 6:00.  We hiked about a mile to a stream and got water.  We hiked another mile or so and stopped for breakfast at 7:00.  Four guys passed while we ate.  At Rausch Creek, beavers had built a dam and the whole area was flooded.  We had to wade through below the dam, ankle deep to knee deep water probably about .2-.3 miles.  What an experience!We stopped at the PA 443 road crossing to call John.  We had to give him info about mailing Susan¢s resupply boxes to the right places.  While we were there, a young woman hiked toward us from the east, not from the AT.  She had hiked four hours off the trail and finally found her way back. She is from Finland and started her thru hike March 1.  If she doesn't get better at following white blazes, she won¢t reach Katahdin. We made it to the next water source by noon and stopped for lunch.  Several thruhikers passed by us while we ate there.  After lunch there were two separate uphill climbs, one was only a half mile or so, the other one was closer to two miles.  When we finally made it to the top, we were expecting a nice ridgewalk, but we were faced with three miles of rocks of every shape and size.  It was hard to even see a path through them.  We finally passed the bulk of rocks and had a two and a half mile generally downhill sloping path to our shelter.  We hadn¢t had any water source for hours, so we were rationing drinking when we needed it most.  My legs were like rubber.  We finally got to the shelter, got water, had dinner, and got ready for bed.  Four male thruhikers were with us.  All of us were in bed before 9:00.
Date: 2019-06-08
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We slept in, ate breakfast in the hotel lobby, did laundry, ate lunch in our room, and took an afternoon nap. I kept taking my antibiotics. About 4:00 we walked across the highway, ate at Logan¢s Roadhouse, and got a few things from Walmart.  On our way, a van from Cabela¢s stopped and picked us up. The worlds largest Cabela¢s is in Hamburg PA just across the highway from our hotel, and they provide shuttles from the hotel to Cabela¢s and to the trailhead all day.  How cool!Susan¢s caving friend Buzz will pick us up between 9-10 in the morning, drop me at the trailhead, and take Susan to his home in NJ.  From there she will ride the train into NYC to visit her aunt and uncle Monday.  Buzz will bring her back to the trail to meet me Tuesday.The red spot in my shin is getting a little smaller. It still feels like someone kicked me there with a steel-toe work boot, but it¢s not quite as painful to walk.  Hopefully it will continue to heal with a couple of shorter hiking days.  Since I am so far away from home, I really want to continue to hike.  I will plan to go a little slower so I won¢t get quite as far as originally planned, but I'll still make progress!
Date: 2019-06-10
From: Eagles Nest Shelter

To: Port Clinton to Hamburg Microtel
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: scattered clouds

It never did rain in the night. Papa Smurf had his alarm set for 4:45 to try to beat the rain into town.  I figured since I was awake at 5:00, I might as well get up too.  I left about 5:45 and it was just starting to sprinkle.  The others were not stirring when we left. Thankfully it was about 60-65 degrees.   We did not beat the rain. The wetter I got, the less appealing staying at the free outdoor pavilion in Port Clinton sounded. I took my phone out in the rain on the ridge and had service, so I called Microtel in Hamburg and arranged for a room again.  Along the way I got to watch a tiny fawn wobble across the trail only 10 feet in front of me.  Later I saw two more grown deer at a dirt road crossing.I passed Papa Smurf after an hour and a half or so and hiked by myself for the rest of the morning.  When the steep downhill began, I stopped to adjust my poles and he caught up and passed me.  My leg was beginning to hurt more on the steep downhill.  I was having to lead with my left leg all the way.  Just before the trail leveled out, I tried to lead with my right (sore) leg and it slid out from under me.  I landed hard in the mud.  Papa Smurf and I came into Port Clinton together and were walking toward the pavilion to call Cabela¢s for a shuttle.  A shuttler name Steve stopped to give us a ride.  He offered to bring us both to Microtel for a total of $10. We jumped in the truck with him and his dog.   Thankfully the hotel was not as crowded as it had been the before and we were able to get checked in early at 10:20am. I had hiked 9 miles, got a ride from Port Clinton to the hotel in Hamburg, and was already in my room, unpacked, showered, with my gear drying out, and my laundry going by 11:30.  I chuckled, thinking of that old ARMY commercial, ¢We do more by 9:00am than most people do all day.¢After all the adrenaline of getting off the mountain and into the hotel in the rain, reality settled in and I realized that not only was my cellulitis really hurting again but I must¢ve twisted my knee when I fell because it was  hurting too, all on the same leg. I ordered Pizza Hut and hung out in the laundry room talking to other hikers while waiting for pizza delivery.   Getaway was taking a zero day here.  One Croc and Booboo had a room too.  I met some others for the first time.  We all plan to be heading out in the morning together.  Pizza Hut not only delivered to the hotel but straight to my room.  Woohoo!  With my laundry done and half a pizza in my belly, it was the perfect time for a nap! After nap time, I chatted with my Mom and John and caught up on NCIS New Orleans.  I¢m finally all caught up on all my shows now.  I took my leftover pizza into the breakfast area of the lobby to reheat it for supper and had three cups of hot chocolate to go with it.  Back in the room I iced and elevated my leg and knee, hoping to go 14.8 miles tomorrow.  I got to talk to my daughter Natalie and her kids and my son Matt and his son Nolan tonight. I need to do 52.2 miles to finish PA and then all my sections will be connected!!!!
Date: 2019-06-12
From: Eckville Shelter

To: New Tripoli campsite
Miles today: 13.3
Weather: overcast clouds

We got up about 6:00 and didn¢t leave until about 7:30.  It was another beautiful weather day.  Our day started with an 1100 feet of elevation change over the first two miles.  Up, but not too steep, most of the time.  I struggled today though.  Lots of rocks all day loose underfoot.  We stopped at the Allentown Shelter at 2:00 for lunch and a nap. It was a beautiful new shelter.  I would¢ve agreed to stop for the day there with any encouragement at all.  My head was not in it.We finally made it to our campsite about 6:00. Tents got set up and we made dinner.  Our food bags were quickly ready to hang from a conveniently nearby giant power line support.  Only two more days of PA and all my hikes will be connected!!It was supposed to rain overnight and the next day.
Date: 2019-06-13
From: New Tripoli campsite

To: John StempaÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Garage
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

The weathermen were correct.  It began raining in the night and was still raining in the morning.  It was forecast to rain all day.  We sat in our tents trying to decide what to do. Our campsite was only 1.1 mile from the Knife Edge, a sketchy slanted granite rock slab area.  Sue did not think it would be safe to try it in the rain. We managed to call John Stempa and arranged to be picked up to go to his ¢hostel¢, which is his garage.  Sue and I parked my truck there and stayed at his place in 2017. I managed to take down my tent from the inside while leaving my ground cloth and rainfly attached to the tent poles.  It was tricky, but it allowed me to pack up while staying relatively dry on my ground cloth under the rainfly.  It would¢ve been interesting to video the maneuvers I went through to accomplish it.  We had to backtrack 1.8 miles to get to a road crossing we had passed yesterday.  Instead of making forward progress today, we actually went backward. We passed Getaway's campsite and told him our plans to avoid hiking the slick rocks of Knife Edge in the rain. He decided to join us. We all got picked up by John Stempa about 10:30.  He stopped for gas in Palmerton so I bought a chocolate milk, a Powerade, and a Naked Mango at the station.Our tents and gear got strung up to dry everywhere in Stempa¢s garage from the rafters and a makeshift clothesline.  A dehumidifier and a fan ran full blast.  We made plans to leave our stuff in the garage while Stempa drops us off to slackpack two days, and sleep in the garage a total of three nights.No hiking today, just drying out, resting, eating, and replanning the next few days.
Date: 2019-06-17
From: Mohican Outdoor Center

To: Brink Shelter
Miles today: 12.8
Weather: clear sky

We woke up briefly around midnight when the latecomers arrived.  Thankfully they were not too loud and we went back to sleep quickly.  We enjoyed a leisurely morning, staying in bed until almost 6:30, eating our breakfast with Gravity, and packing up.  Gravity left first, and we left about 8:30.  We never saw the latecomers.According to the AWOL Guide, today's hike is 1307.4-1320.2.According to the Guthook app, it is 1305.9-1302.2.We started the day with a good uphill climb with high humidity to get us really sweating.  We caught up with Gravity and climbed up the Catfish Lookout Tower with him.  We did not see many others today.  It began raining around lunchtime, so we stopped at Blue Mountain Lakes Road, set up Sue¢s tarp, and ate under it.  The rain tapered off as we ate.  Buckshot (VA), Meep (OH) and Fumble (VA) passed us.  They are thruhikers who met on trail early on and have been hiking together.  After lunch, we had to be careful because the rocks were slick and slippery from the rain for the rest of the day.  We got to the Brink Shelter just before 5:00.  One young male hiker got there just before us and was sitting at the picnic table when we came in.  When we said we intended to stay in the shelter, he moved to the tenting area and set up his tent.  I guess he wasn¢t interested in socializing with us old folks.  Gravity got here about 6:00. We all set up our sleeping areas, fixed our dinners and ate, and put our our food bags in the bear box.  One other male hiker came into the area as we ate, but he also set up his tent away from us.  Just as we three were ready to crawl into our bags early, Buckshot, Meep and Fumble arrived to stay in the shelter.  They had taken a sidetrail into town for real food so at least they didn¢t have to fix food here and eat.  It was tight quarters with six, but always fun to meet new hikers. More rain was expected overnight.  12.8 miles?
Date: 2019-06-19
To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We enjoyed staying at Aunt Patti¢s home.  She fixed scrambled eggs with cheese for breakfast to go with our leftover prime rib and potato.  mmmmShe had a appointment for her niece to cut and color her hair at noon and she called to get us last-minute appointments too. After we were all trimmed, we went to the DLux Diner for lunch. My husband called to say he and Jorge were finished at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown and on their way to pick us up. We had to hustle back to Patti¢s to meet them.   Then we drove with John and Jorge to Edison NJ to eat at Harold¢s Diner.  We had enough for dinner and leftovers for the next day¢s lunch in the car.  We continued driving and stopped at Aberdeen MD to spend the night at the exit where our daughter lived when her husband was stationed at APG. I never thought I¢d be back there once they got transferred to Texas.
Date: 2019-06-20
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

We drove twelve hours to get home.We hiked 383.5 miles this trip. We hiked a total of 31 days for an average of 12.4 miles per day.I lost 11-12 pounds on the 35 day trip, even with all the town stops and restaurants we visited, because there is no way to carry enough calories to maintain starting weight.We slept in these places, including travel days:  Hotels 6, Homes 4, Hostels 10, Shelters 9, Tents 5, Campground Cabin 1.
Date: 2019-09-05
From: Branchville NJ

To: Rutherford Shelter
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: clear sky

After a few weeks at home, I was already planning to get back on the trail again. Susan was not going to b e able to join me so I posted on the AT women's Facebook page and got some responses from potential hiking partners.I drove to New Jersey and spent the night at Patti¢s house again. It was good to reconnect with her.  I had a wonderful night¢s sleep and enjoyed a nice hot shower in the morning.  She fixed me a lovely breakfast of hot tea, bacon, toast, scrambled eggs with smoked Gouda, and a fresh peach off her peach tree.Deb from the Facebook group met me at Patti¢s house at 9:00am and Patti drove us to Branchville, NJ.  We planned to take two days to hike 23 miles back to Unionville and stay with Patti again.  We got on the trail about 10:30am.  Patti hiked a half mile or so with us before heading back to her car.We saw more people during the day than we thought we would.  A young sobo couple at the Appalachian Deli where Patti parked her car, a group of 15 or so high school freshman and sponsors from Philadelphia out for a week to start off their school year, a couple of older ladies with their dog out for the day, three younger sobo guys, a dad and his two kiddos out for the day, a young couple dayhiking, a young couple from Germany here on a three month visa, another three solo sobo guys, and then another young sobo couple.  We haven¢t seen anybody else heading north like we are.We had nice views from the Culver fire tower. We stopped for a late lunch on Sunrise Mountain where we had cool breezes, a pavilion, and benches.  It is one of the highest spots on the trail in NJ.  We could just make out the New York City skyline far in the distance because it was such a clear day.We got to Mashipacong Shelter about 4:30.  The shelter was conveniently placed right on the trail and had a privy and bear box but no water source, so we rested a bit and moved on another 2.6 miles north to the Rutherford Shelter which is .4 off the trail but supposedly had a nearby water source.We arrived there about 6:00 and found the stream sluggish and yucky looking.  It would have to do for the night.  Guthook says there are multiple water sources tomorrow so we¢ll be okay.  No one else was at the shelter.  It cooled off more overnight.  We set up in the shelter and fixed dinner.  Deb had a rough time with leg cramps.  I shared some Propel packets with her and hoped they would help.
Date: 2019-09-06
From: Rutherford Shelter

To: Unionville NY
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: light rain

I could not get the valve on my air mattress to close and lock last night and was dreading sleeping without a barrier between me and the shelter floor.  I gave up and fixed dinner.  At bedtime I tried again and again.  Finally Deb tried it and it worked!I tossed and turned alot but finally slept. The birds started chirping shortly after 6:00 so we started stirring then too. It was about 7:40 when we left the shelter.  We had .4 to walk to get back on the actual trail.  Yesterday we heard rain from hurricane Dorian was due to hit here today but it was clear for the moment.We made it 2.9 miles to High Point State HQ where we stopped for breakfast. We ate at a picnic table, used the indoor bathrooms, and filled our bottles from a spigot. Then we had an uphill climb to a neat little observation tower.  We bypassed the High Point of New Jersey which was a war monument off a steep side trail and kept plodding along.  We only saw 8-10 sobos all day.  All were heading south from Katahdin on a mission to get to Springer as quickly as possible.  The only two interested in slowing down to chat were a couple guys slack packing nobo today even though they were really sobo hikers.  We had several road crossings, walked along pastures, balanced on the boardwalks through swampy areas, had some rocky stretches that weren¢t too bad, and had one last steep but short climb before reaching Unionville.Patti picked us up about 3:30.  It started raining as we drove to her home. We showered and cleaned up at her house and put our stinky hiker clothes in the washer. Then we took Deb¢s truck to leave at the Tuxedo Motel and made a reservation to stay there Monday.  Patti offered to slackpack us tomorrow¢s 16.8 miles so we drove to the trail crossing where we plan to meet her tomorrow at 6:00pm with all our gear so she knew exactly how to get there.  Finally we stopped for dinner.  I immensely enjoyed a French onion soup and a chicken spinach salad.  I noticed a dessert case and ordered a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.  I was too full to eat it so I decided to take it on the trail tomorrow.  mmm We had a lot to do when we got back to Patti¢s home and it was later than usual for bedtime.  It was raining outside thanks to Hurricane Dorian but we were dry and warm in real beds and it was supposed to be done by morning.  Tomorrow we will just need to carry lunch, water, first aid, and rain gear.  Yippee!!  Patti  has been a true trail angel for us!!  Deb is from NY.  Susan from PA, also from our AT Women¢s Facebook group, plans to meet us at the shelter tomorrow evening and hike with us the next few days.  It¢s neat meeting like-minded women to hike with.