morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-05-21
From: Bears Den Hostel

To: Teahorse Hostel
Miles today: 19.7
Weather: scattered clouds

This is scary - four pizzas, three showers, and three nights in real beds in four days. I'm practically not feral anymore. I pushed a bit to get to Harpers Ferry early. That usually costs me later, but the ATC office closes at five, and I wanted to be able to spend some quality time with my mail drop.I was at the office at four thirty, and turned out to be northbounder 159. Last year about a thousand people eventually made it as far as Harpers Ferry. I was 487 at the approach trail; last year about 2500 people started intending to thru.I had a productive evening. I made it to the outfitter also, who hooked me up with a pair of old Leki end sections. I cut off just enough to reinforce the tips on my staff (the tip I'd been using buckled when it jammed on a rock some time back). I also reversed the tips, putting the rubber end on the worn tip, and moving the essentially new tip to the working end of the staff.One package was a medium hip belt. because I've lost a few pounds, the large one on the pack has been stuck for weeks at its smallest setting. I also restitched and reinforced the yoke, which had worked mostly loose from the pack's frame spar.Finally, courtesy of Cathi, I have shiny new ultralight camp shoes that roll up inside the pack (and therefore should not fall off like the last ones).
Date: 2013-05-22
From: Teahorse Hostel

To: Rocky Run Shelter
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: haze

A very lazy day. The hostel (which is very nice, by the way) included a waffle breakfast. I made a quick trip to 7-11 first, which had none of the things I was looking for, but did have a thing or three to nibble on.After many waffles, I reached the trail about 8:30. There were at least a dozen deer browsing on the bit that skirts town. I got the obligatory photos of heron and turtles along the C&O Canal, then headed up South Mountain.A bit up the crest, I met a stray goat. Is this what the CIA does when it is done staring at them? Gapland State Park alas no longer has vending machines, but does have cold tap water, toilets that flush, and a blissfully air conditioned museum.I stopped short, with the Dahlgren campground with free showers only a couple of miles further on. The sky had been rumbling for some time and about the time I was settled in the thunderstorm arrived. It mostly poured until midnight, we'll see about tomorrow.Hi 96 low 70
Date: 2013-05-23
From: Rocky Run Shelter

To: Ensign Cowell Shelter
Miles today: 15.7
Weather: light rain

Lots of things to see and fine trail magic at Dahlgren Park Courtesy of Cribbage (who did a long section earlier rhis spring). Every gap along the trail was fought over in the 1862 Battle of South Mountain and it seemed like there were flush toilets, water fountains, and air conditioned visitors centers everywhere. None of this made for long morning miles, nor did the light rain.Even so, by midday there was another milestone - crossing I70, another transcontinental freeway. I pulled the plug just before sixteen miles. Thunder was rumbling, the sky dripping, and the next shelter more than two hours away (Maryland bans informal camping away from developed sites). Just as well, after eight it began to pour.High   Low 66
Date: 2013-05-24
From: Ensign Cowell Shelter

To: Rocky Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 24.7

It rained through the night and the wind howled all day, but (aside from a few morning sprinkled) the impending storm never arrived. That of course meant cool temps all day, perfect for hiking.With the wind and overcast, I did not linger on Maryland's premier overlooks. I stayed long enough at Pen Mar Park to hit the pop machine (no hot dog stand until tomorrow, and perhaps not then), walk through the visitor center, and chat with the caretaker. The park is (like Cascadia in Oregon) the remnant of one of the many mountain resorts in the country that sprung up at the end of interurban, trolley, and rail lines outside cities from about 1890 to 1935. Generally, the hotels burned down, the rail lines collapsed, WWII happened, and then air conditioning and television rendered the resorts obsolete. A very few, like Pen Mar, are remembered as parks. The caretaker is in his 80's, and remembers many of the folks in the old photos in the visitor center, a few still live nearby.There was a pre-school graduation going on with quite the picnic laid on, but crashing it seemed well over the line, even for a yogi thru hiker. Back to the trail, and over the Mason Dixon Line.I came to rest at the Rocky Mountain Shelters, in this stretch of PA many of the shelters are built in pairs. His/hers? Snoring/not? Who knows why. The forecast is for 38 so I probably should be in my tent, but the shelter had a tarp across the door so I am taking my chances. The guide assures me it is 1,111.1 miles to Katahdin, which surely is reason enough to spend the night here. High 63 low 53
Date: 2013-05-25
From: Rocky Mountain Shelter

To: Toms Run Shelter
Miles today: 19.2

Day 65 Rocky MountaiI have lots of cookable food, but was down to my last trail food crumbs, so the first chore today was to pop a mile off trail to a grocery for more trail mix and brownies. No pizza this time, bananas, oatmeal cookies, and hand crafted bologna (which, in this part of Pennsylvania, is nothing at all like oscar mayer) to nibble. I stopped into the state park for water, and hit 3G for a bit, and next thing you know it was two hours and only half a mile later.I walked more diligently through the afternoon (did you know a full repetition of 99 bottles of beer on the wall is about six tenths of a mile?) and realized what is different in PA. There are no flowers in the woods. Buds on the laurel, and this and that on the fringes, but nada in the forest. Are they done? Not started? Extinct?It did hit 38 this morning, how many more of those will there be I wonder.Low 38 high 67
Date: 2013-05-26
From: Toms Run Shelter

To: Alec Kennedy Shelter
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: clear sky

The trail gets longer over time as switchbacks are added. These are mainly in the south, so although I passed the current half point yesterday, the formal monument (placed in 2011) was early this morning and the historical Center Point Knob early tomorrow.For 33 years the traditional way to celebrate the midpoint is with a half gallon of ice cream. Conveniently, the Pine Grove Furnace General Store is newly open for the season and eager to dispense that commodity.Now when I thought about this yesterday, it occurred to me that sherbert or frozen yoghurt might be the wise choice. Of course when the moment of truth came not only were the smart choices unavailable, I reverted to thru hiker form and looked at the labels. The clear winner at 300 calories per serving, Moose Tracks it is.Half a gallon, no sweat. Then it occurred to me my twin (2004 thru) might note a half gallon is now in truth only a quart and a half. Back to the freezer it was, for a pint of Cherrylicious to round things out. So much ice cream can't be good for you on an empty stomach, so I opted for a hamburger with everything to settle matters. Worse, on my way out of the park there was a snack bar. Reasoning I might not see one of those again for a while, I stopped for a couple of hot dogs. A thru hiker's appetite is a force to be reckoned with.All in all (I arrived well before the store opened) bowing to tradition took four hours out of the hiking day. I just had time to get to my preferred destination not quite 20 miles up the trail. Odd, I didn't seem to need as much trail food as normal - go figure.Low 43 High 75
Date: 2013-05-28
From: Darlington Shelter

To: Doyle Hotel, Duncannon
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: few clouds

There are lots of reasons to do a town stop, food, batteries, clean socks, shower, sore feet. None of those really rose to the fore, but throw in a very rainy morning and a classic hiker locale, and town day it is.The Doyle was built roughly a hundred years ago by Annheiser Busch in an early foray into the market space now filled by Busch Gardens. It is a bit beyond rustic, but so long as you think of it as a hostel with private bunkrooms, it is great. It also has a first rate bar, with first rate bar food (chile cheese fries count as a vegetable, right?). The proprieters are super, and very much there for through hikers.Clean socks, dry everything (well, boots are a bit dampish), full batteries, and food for 5-6 days. Life is good (despite the rain and the picking though slick, steep, broken rock).They say there is a fine breakfast across the street, starting at six.Low 55 High 66
Date: 2013-05-29
From: Doyle Hotel, Duncannon

To: 1027 campsite
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: broken clouds

It always takes time to get out of a good trail town. I woke well after sunrise, and breakfast across the street was as good as its reputation (they make killer pancakes).Warm haze replaced the rain, though by the time I topped the ridge the cloud had burned off of it. Lots of snakes on the trail today for some reason.The shelters in this stretch are akwardly spaced, so my poor, neglected tent is no longer dead weight. It is nice to get up whenever and not worry about noise. The mosquitos are in full bloom, even if the forest is not.Low 73 High 87
Date: 2013-05-30
From: 1027 campsite

To: 1009 campsite
Miles today: 18.4

Two days into the heat wave. It is apparently warmer than normal but stillborn thunderheads yesterday and more afternoon clouds today kept things in reason.Despite the short miles and heat, I am going thru trail food faster than usual. Odd. I should have enough to reach Port Clinton.It could be a while before I stay in a shelter again, if you overnight in Duncannon, they are all in exactly the wrong places. Too bad, another palace is coming up. The 501 shelter has running water, a shower, and local restaurants deliver to it. A 25-30 mile day would synch things up, but in this heat and on these trails, I am content to tent and add a day.Today was another snake day, a pair of black racers and a timber rattlesnake.Low 70 High 92
Date: 2013-05-31
From: 1009 campsite

To: 987 camp
Miles today: 21.1
Weather: scattered clouds

Of course there were very nice campsites two and three miles up the trail, exactly where I would have stopped last night if I knew I could camp anywhere.Pennsylvania may be a bit rocky in spots, and may not have shelters everywhere you'd like, but they have some darned nice shelters. Other than shelters, no real excitement today. Oh, I did cross I81, faithful companion for quite some time, for what I think is the last time. I did run past the last published camp and, sure enough, there was a campsite about where I wanted one. I am trying to get set to do Hamburg (new boots) without losing half a day. Of course, there is always the weather . . . More heat, then thunderstorms, but only for a day or two. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.Low 66 High 91
Date: 2013-06-01
From: 987 camp

To: Port Clinton Hotel
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: scattered clouds

The trail today was rocky and non-descript, the mission to get to town early enough to get the shopping done. I splurged for the hotel, after hiking four days through a heat wave, I thought a shower was in order before mixing with the locals.Fire Department supporters were raising funds with a spaghetti dinner, I'm a sucker for good causes, and ate spaghetti rather than scare up an AYCE buffet in town (contrary to the guide, Cabela's in-store cafe did not seem to do weekend buffets, but there were other buffets in town). In any case, great dinner, and huge selection of donated desserts.After the long walk to Cabela's, it also turns out their brick and mortar boot selection is mighty thin. They did not have the Vasques I was looking for. Tried on Merrills and Keens. The former had an oddly narrow toe box, the latter, very wide. Feet chimed in "go wide! go wide!" Keens it is. Hope they work.Got quite a lot of trail food, and will work on getting closer to the actual calories burned. The heat is due to break tomorrow (in a flurry of violent thunderstorms), that should help.High 91 low 67
Date: 2013-06-02
From: Port Clinton Hotel

To: Eckville Shelter
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: overcast clouds

A deliberately short day. First, a short day on new boots seemed like good sense. The forecast was for thunderstorms after two, making fifteen about right. By evening, it was rain after three. The next time I had 3g was midmorning, and the forecast was now for storms beginning late morning.I hit the shelter at 1:30, clouds but no rain. Super, that let me put tick repellant on the tent, pack, and the tops of all my socks. Remarkably, the rain stayed away until after the recommended two hour drying time passed. A bit of sun even.This is another uber shelter, four walls, two doors, padded bunks, and real indoor plumbing ( including a shower).low 66, High 91
Date: 2013-06-03
From: Eckville Shelter

To: Allentown Shelter
Miles today: 7.4

Steady rain at dawn is not the ideal way to start a hiking day. Rolling over and sleeping late seemed the best option. I finally got to the trail at 9:30, well after the rain sputtered out. Yesterday's fast fifteen was not something I wanted to repeat (have I mentioned the rocks?) so it was a very leisurely stroll to the first shelter. With good digital access for the first time in days, I brought the journal up to date and conducted business with home.By then, it would have been very late to make Bake Oven Knob. Anything short of that, and I'd not be able to make it through the Dead Zone past Palmerton. Since I have to stop short of Lehigh Gap whichever way I go, I declared a neero. Feet said "Meh". I expected to zero by about now, but the weather has not been quite bad enough to do it with a clear conscience.The flowers are just beginning to open in the woods, but the bugs are out in spades. Lucky us, there is a pretty good hatch of cicadas going. The ground is pockmarked where they've emerged, and folliage is covered with their shed skins. Oddly, they are not super noisy yet, but it is coming.Low 71 High 76
Date: 2013-06-04
From: Allentown Shelter

To: Palmerton Jailhouse Hostel
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: clear sky

Mid-morning reminded me of the other reason I stopped short yesterday. Two trail features, the Knife Edge, and Bear Rocks. They are tricky bits of rock that I wanted bone dry before I crossed them.About those new boots. A fellow hiker had them in low top, and his soles fell apart within 200 miles. This was in Shenandoah, land of soft flat (for AT) trails. Mine are starting to separate on day 2. The problem is the sole is formed from five separate compounds, and they hired the wrong chemical engineer to make sure they all bonded. They all want to peel apart, and on wet rock, they all slide like ice. Anyhoo, I did not want to do the rocks yesterday when they'd be damp, and you'd have to start beyond them to get past Lehigh the next day.Just as well, the Jailhouse is an institution (and free). This is the furthest I've slept from the trail, but worth the walk. I get another pass at town food too, which is a good thing (even without pizza and ice cream).Low 51 High 84
Date: 2013-06-05
From: Palmerton Jailhouse Hostel

To: Leroy A. Smith Shelter
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: overcast clouds

The ridge beyond Lehigh Gap wasn't what I expected. Oh the climb is everything you have heard about it. But it looks to be on a natural talus slope, if it is, it would be the same, smelter or not. As the trail approaches the core Superfund area, it is now diverted to a grassy road on the north flank of the ridge. Views are great (discounting the large, noisy power plant in the foreground), the trail is lush, and the footing very comfortable. After a few miles the trail climbs into the region of dead trees and vegetation, the fringe of the land affected by emissions.The dead trees don't look like they've been down more than a few years, but a local told me most were killed in WWII when the smelter produced zinc around the clock for the war effort. Apparently the sulfur baked out of the ore killed the trees, but also killed everything that normally rots them. Standing and fallen trees remain like ghosts, and will probably be around for some time to come.Surprise! There was more big rock to climb out of Little Gap. Who knew? I did get a good recording of the cicadas, and called it a day after fifteen. I'm not sure any day that involves climbing out of Lehigh gap counts as short.Low 59 High 79
Date: 2013-06-06
From: Leroy A. Smith Shelter

To: Delaware Water Gap
Miles today: 20.2
Weather: overcast clouds

I've enjoyed Pennsylvania, it has rocks but there are also miles of flat, just not in the last thirty miles. The state goes out with a bang, going out of its way to make sure you remember that PA Rocks. Wind Gap to Wolf Rocks was especially fun.The highlight was the descent into the Gap. Delaware Water Gap is an impressive bit of geography by any measure, and walking into it from the tippy top was very cool. Even if it did begin to rain. Fortunately the red sandstone in the Gap keeps a fair grip when wet.The Hiker Center at Church of the Mountain was full and overflowing, but they have a perfect replica of a trail shelter up the hill that was clean and dry. Today was the first Thursday Hotdog Dinner, and with the weather, they had a record crowd.The weather. Tropical Storm Andrea is trending up the seaboard, and two inches of rain are forecast tomorrow . . .Low 56 high 76
Date: 2013-06-07
From: Delaware Water Gap

To: Delaware Water Gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

By 8am an inch of rain had fallen, anywhere from a few hundredths to a quarter inch an hour. Bad day to hike, so I did very little. Hit the diner for a very fine (and very large) breakfast, the the outstanding bakery. Other than that and a turn at the jigsaw puzzle in the hiker room, I did very little (Feet applauded). Only fifty percent chance of rain tomorrow, and only a tenth of an inch at that. This has been the lowest mileage week since the Smokies, drizzle or no, tomorrow its time to get hiking again.Low 56 high 70Yes, I still carry the Bearikade, and it still keeps bears, mice, and cicadas out of my food.
Date: 2013-06-08
From: Delaware Water Gap

To: Brink Road Shelter
Miles today: 24.8
Weather: light rain

A couple of milestones, I am no longer in Pennsylvania, and I crossed I80, the next to last trans-continental freeway. A motorist celebrated by getting sideways on the bend in front of the DWG visitors center, hitting the guardrail with authority, missing the following semi, and apparently driving off as though nothing happens (leaving assorted automotive bits and pieces behind). I can just hear the conversation with the insurance agent - "I don't know how it happened, I came out of the store and it was just like that in the parking lot."Seriously - Jersey rocks are no softer than PA rocks. It is the same ridge, after all, and the rocks are pretty much the same.The views are nice, and it is also nice to walk a ridge that does not have a freeway running up both sides.Got another bear video, arguably too close to the shelter. As long as they are quiet bears.Low 58 Hi 78
Date: 2013-06-09
From: Brink Road Shelter

To: High Point Shelter
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: few clouds

Ok, it may just be me, but the AT seems a bit neglected here. It is often overgrown (not good in an area where more than half the ticks are infected with Lyme disease), many of the shelters have major drainage problems, and where it crosses slopes, the trail often has been allowed to slide 15-20 feet downhill. The rocks are bad enough, but the neglect makes them harder to take. Back in Georgia, we laughed at folks from New Jersey with machetes. The laugh is on us, if our intro to the AT was here, we'd be carring machetes too.The was a cooler full of soda and Little Debbie just as the afternoon began to heat up and that improved my attitude immensely.Ran into a tour group from Japan, who looked a lot like a group I met in the Shenandoah. I hope when they come to hike the AT, it costs less to do New Jersey than a national park.Low 57 High 82
Date: 2013-06-10
From: High Point Shelter

To: Wayawanda Shelter
Miles today: 23.9
Weather: moderate rain

Yesterday the trail crossed several rugged ridges on the way to High Point, but there was no sign of them on the way back East this morning. In fact, things were terrific for most of the day, and much of the trail beautifully maintained. That made the difference between a twelve mile morning today (including a stop at a store for trail food) and eight miles yesterday.Oh, there is the rain. It started slowly before eight, building to a downpour for the climb up Wawayanda Mountain. Which turned out to be a real climb. There were well conceived and well set stone steps in the steepest sections, and the rock tended to grippy rather than slick. Pretty good climb, even in the rain.The rain only encouraged New Jersey's natural tendency to boggy. At one point there is nearly a mile of boardwalk (oddly, all without a single white blaze).With the rain, the shelter was overflowing, I had the opportunity (oh boy!) to practice pitching the tent in a driving rain. You reach behind an pull it from its bag, out from under the poncho. Once up, you take off the pack and throw it in, then shed the poncho as you go through the door. It works, but I still prefer to do it when it isn't raining!Low 60 High 76
Date: 2013-06-11
From: Wayawanda Shelter

To: Widcat Shelter
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: broken clouds

Day 82 Wawayanda shelter to wildcat shelter 12.1miIt was still raining when I woke up, so I was in no particular hurry to get started. The shelter choices (NY bans random camping) were 12 and 26 and 26 was not likely. It took until 7:30 to get motivated to go, and by that time the rain was light.Good call on the short day. The first bit of NY is an eclectic mix of rock climbing and wading. The two did not mix well, the ridge was a red sandstone that was metamorphized, altered a little or a lot by heat and pressure. Where unaltered it had great traction (same rock as DWG) but the more altered, the slicker it was. Between wet rock and Keen Soles thing were slippier than snot. And every time you got down from the rock, they either routed the trail through a bog, or a stream down the trail, ensuring even if the rocks were dry, your shoes weren't.All in all, it was tedious and excruciatingly slow. The climbs would be a kick if dead dry, or somewhere cool (the Ko'olau range in Hawaii comes to mind) but with hazy, unremarkable views today they just seemed a chore.Worst of all, the hot dog stand ten miles up is only open Wednesday to Saturday. I didn't even have the heart to make the short walk up the road to the creamery (which only had ice cream, which I'm not really craving yet after Pine Grove Furnace).Still room in the shelter, and tomorrow is a new day.Low 62, High 78
Date: 2013-06-12
From: Widcat Shelter

To: William Brien Memorial Shelter
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: light rain

A pretty nice day, which is to say it didn't rain. The wind tore most of the day, weather blowing in or out, hard to tell which. It kept everthing cool and bright - super nice hiking.Saw a small bear a few miles into the day, but not soon enough to get the camera out. I thought we were past most of them but apparently not.The trail mellowed out a bit. Lots of ups and downs, some rocks, some mud, but none of the went on for miles like they have been.Harriman Park was awsome - lots of good trail, well kept, good views. I just dawdled most of the afternoon, savoring the day.Low 61 High 78