morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2017-05-01
From: Campsite

To: Campsite
Miles today: 16.3

Today we hiked to another campsite along the trail as the distance to the first shelter was too short, and the distance to the second shelter was too great. It was a rainy morning but the weather cleared up for us during the afternoon. The hiking today was fairly easy. At the end of the day we were camping near a road that wasn't too far from a Mcdonalds according to my guide book. So we decided to walk to the road and see if we could hitch in to it. It didn't even take a minute and we had a ride from a local handyman named Randy. He was on his way to town to pick up flowers for his wife, so he dropped us off and picked us up on his way home and took us back to our campsite. So far hitchhiking has really easy for us. I hope it keeps up this way! We got rained on over night in our tents, but everything remained dry inside the tents.
Date: 2017-05-02
From: Campsite

To: 501 shelter
Miles today: 12.8
Weather: light rain

Today we ran into "Tigger" again. We met him in the Shenandoah's at the start of the hike and he was getting off trail for a few days, and then hiking with his wife. So we moved on, but for the past few weeks he has been walking 20-30 miles each day and he finally caught us. We stayed with him tonight in the shelter but he was getting up at 4am to do 40 miles with his trail friend "Johnny Tsunami." So it is highly unlikely we will see him again. Tonights shelter was four sided and enclosed which was nice. There was a caretaker who lived in the house beside it. There was also electricity to charge your things. A real first class shelter. We also had pizza delivered to us.
Date: 2017-05-03
From: 501 shelter

To: Eagles Nest shelter
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: few clouds

Today we started out with some trail magic again. Someone had left a jug of water and some apple juice out for us. Then a little further down the trail they had put apples on top of cans of PBR. Sweet! The trail was once again very rocky and our feet are starting to feel it. Sometimes for a mile or so you are walking on trail that is nothing but small, pointy, sharp rocks that sting when you step on them. Other times it's a quarter mile stretch of gigantic rocks that you have to jump across from one to the other. For the past 2 days we have sheltered with two guys in their 70's who are a pretty funny duo. It always nice to have good company at shelters for the dowm time.
Date: 2017-05-04
From: Eagles Nest shelter

To: Hamburg PA(Microtel)
Miles today: 9.3
Weather: clear sky

Today coming out of the shelter we said our goodbyes to the guys from Texas as it was their last day on the trail. We also ran into "Bigbird" who has a Youtube channel(Steve Walker check it out) that my mom has been following. She said we were close to him and sure enough we finally met him. He chatted with us for a while and made a little video clip of us that should go onto his channel. The trail again was veeeery rocky. Almost the whole 9 miles. The last mile or so was very steep downhill. Today we finished in Hamburg PA but before we got there the trail ran through Port Clinton PA. We ran into the 2 guys from Texas at the Port Clinton Hotel where we had planned to eat. We ordered our food and ate and when we went to pay we discovered the 2 Texans had paid for our meal. It's amazing how many kind folks we have come across on the trail. Gotta love all the trail magic! We checked into our hotel and then walked over to the walmart to resupply. I'm finally going to get a good nights sleep in a nice warm bed. The weather is going to be crap tomorrow, and our bodies need rest, so we are going to 0 tomorrow and stay at the hotel again for a second night.
Date: 2017-05-05
From: Hotel

To: Hotel
Miles today: 0.0

Zeroing here today at the hotel. Meaning we are going to do 0 miles and rest up. We had a nice breakfast at the hotel and now we are just relaxing and enjoying not being out in the rain and cold. Tomorrow we have just over 15 miles to Eckville Shelter. We crossed 300 miles the day before yesterday!
Date: 2017-05-06
To: Eckville Shelter
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: drizzle

We caught a shuttle from a local at 8am. We stopped and ate lunch at a place called the Pinnacle. It had a nice panoramic view of PA. The Eckville Shelter was very nice and enclosed. It was right behind the caretaker's house. He was a grumpy guy who wouldn't let us order pizza. We bunked that night with "Hot Pants", "Gypsy Queen" and "Lighten Up".
Date: 2017-05-07
From: Eckville Shelter

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

It was a rainy and cold day. The trail was really rocky especially at a place called Knife's Edge and Bake Oven Knob.We stayed with "Hot Pants" again. He took a pretty bad fall on the rocks today. We went down a steep hill to get water and there was none. That sucked!
Date: 2017-05-08
From: Bake Oven Knob Shelter

To: Campsite
Miles today: 12.7
Weather: clear sky

We hiked 7 miles to the next shelter and had a snack. We then hiked another mile and hitched a ride  into Palmerton PA . We ate lunch at a Subway and resupplied at a local grocery store named Country harvest. I bought fudge rounds for breakfast, summer sausage, cheese and cookie butter for lunch, and macaroni and cheese with tuna packets for dinner. I also bought a big bag of M and M's. A terrible diet but it is ok when you burn 3000 plus calories a day. After restocking we hitched a ride back to the trail. The descent was steep and rocky out of Palmerton. We walked a few more miles and have set up camp for the night
Date: 2017-05-09
From: Campsite

To: Campsite
Miles today: 16.6
Weather: clear sky

Today we packed up our camp and headed out around 7:30am. There was a shelter about 7 miles out and we stopped and had 2nd breakfast. Trail meals go breakfast, 2nd breakfast, lunch, 2nd lunch, and dinner. There was no water the whole day. So after hiking about 15 miles I walked .5 miles to the store and bought 2 gallon jugs of water and was able to catch a ride back from a local. We carried the water for a few miles to our campsite and were able to cook dinner and breakfast the next morning. We camped that night with a 51yr old named "rabbit" from Florida.
Date: 2017-05-10
From: Campsite

To: The Pocono Inn
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: clear sky

Today we rolled out of camp about 7:30am and had a pretty decent day trail wise. It's was the last day of hiking in Pa, but they didn't let us go without having us climb over a few rocks. We got into the borough of Delaware Water Gap about 3pm after hiking 12 or so miles. I went to the post office and got our packages. We were going to stay at the church of the mountain hiking center which is a bunk room in the basement of a local church that is free. But there were a bunch of 20 something thru hikers so we decide to stay in the local flea bag motel for 60 bucks. We had a nice dinner at the local restaurant and we did our laundry at the hotel. Tomorrow we are off early and will cross into NJ. We have about 15 miles to the next shelter.
Date: 2017-05-11
From: Delaware Water Gap PA

To: Campsite
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Climbed out of Delaware Water Gap today  and crossed into New Jersey. The terrain is still very rocky. We thought these had ended but we are not out of them yet. We hiked about 8 miles and stopped for lunch at Brink Shelter. We met 2 section hikers Bill 75 years and Mad Dog 64 years. These 2 thru hiked in 2006 and have kept in touch. They meet each year to hike a 100 mile section.
Date: 2017-05-12
From: Campsite

To: Gren Anderson Shelter
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: clear sky

The trail was pretty difficult today. Rocks are still BAD. We climbed a mountain with a fire tower. There was a nice view of the New Jersey mountains from the top of the fire tower. We walked over seventeen miles today and felt it at the end of our walk. We sheltered at Gren Anderson Shelter.
Date: 2017-05-13
From: Gren Anderson Shelter

To: High Point Shelter
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: moderate rain

Today it poured rain all day nonstop. We walked 13 miles in it to the next shelter. We started about 8am and finished about 1pm.I only stopped once on this day at the High Point State Park office for a free soda. When I arrived at the shelter I stripped out of my wet clothes into my dry ones and it was straight to the sleeping bag for the rest of the day.
Date: 2017-05-14
From: High Point Shelter

To: Rickey's Farm
Miles today: 18.9
Weather: clear sky

I put on my wet clothes first thing this morning which was no fun. The trail was very muddy from the rain yesterday.This made for some treacherous hiking. We stopped in Unionville, New York at a deli/market just off the trail. I had a delicious roast beef sandwich and we resupplied for 4 days. In 4 days we should be at Bear Mountain NY where my girlfriend's parent's live. The Lennon's will pick us up and we will spend a night with them.
Date: 2017-05-15
From: Rickey's Farm

To: Wildcat Shelter
Miles today: 17.1
Weather: few clouds

We started a climb just up from the shelter that is nicknamed "Stairway to Heaven" . The climb wasn't that bad. There was a great view from the top.After hiking about 10 miles we made it to Prospect Rock.It had a great view of Greenwood Lake and we could see Manhatten in the background. We walked over a lot of rock today! At least a couple miles of solid granite . some rock climbing was also required.
Date: 2017-05-16
From: Wildcat Shelter

To: Finger Board Shelter
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: clear sky

Today was some of the hardest trail we have walked. The terrain was non stop up and down. There was absolutely no flat trail!!The past 4 nights we have sheltered or camped with Bill and Mad Dog who I referenced in a prior post. When hiking we have run into them off and on. They have been good company and we are sad to seed them go. The shelter tonight is used by locals so it isn't very clean. In the shelter log book we noted that people had mentioned seeing bears in this area recently.
Date: 2017-05-17
From: Finger Board Shelter

To: Bear Mountain Bridge NY
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: broken clouds

Today was a pretty easy 15.3 mile day. We finished with a climb up Bear Mountain down to the bridge. We saw our first bear today but it was in the Bear Mountain Zoo that the trail passes through . We were picked up by  my girlfriend Rachel's dad Owen. He drove us back to their home. They put us up and fed us very well. We had a great meal that first night and a great night with the Lennon's.
Date: 2017-05-18
From: Lennon's home

To: Lennon's home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Zero day at the Lennon's in Pomona NY. We had a great day! Kelly, Rachel's sister, let us borrow her car to run errands for the day. We shopped at REI in Yonkers  and resupplied . We also picked up packages at the Post Office and then even had time to nap. That evening the Lennon's treated us to a barbeque. Rachel's brother Owen and his girlfriend Jen came and Owen did the cooking. After the big meal we chatted and then it was off to bed. Thanks so much Lennons!
Date: 2017-05-19
From: Lennon's home Pomona NY

To: Campsite near Clarence Fahnestock State park NY
Miles today: 17.1
Weather: broken clouds

Today was a pretty easy hiking day. We came upon some trail magic at one point when we came to the trailhead .A guy from NJ was offering cold water and beer. We enjoyed chatting with him but couldn't help but be a little annoyed by his NJ accent. Uggh! We made it to the campsite and set up tents , ate and were settled in the tent by dark.
Date: 2017-05-20
From: Campsite near Clarence Fahnestock State park NY

To: Morgan Stewart Shelter
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: clear sky

Today we walked about 10 miles to RPH Shelter and had a nice lunch. We met "Trinket" and her dog who are also thru hiking.  The rest of the day was steep and rocky. At the shelter we met "The French Connection" . They are a French father and son hiking together. Their story is the son had a child who died of cancer and was helped by "Make a Wish". He is thru hiking to raise awareness and funds for this organization. We stopped for the night at the Morgan Stewart Shelter.
Date: 2017-05-21
From: Morgan Stewart Shelter

To: Wiley Shelter
Miles today: 16.6
Weather: overcast clouds

We said goodbye to the French Connection this am. Today we had a nice easy trail all day. We walked over a long boardwalk that passed over swamp land . On the other side of it was a garden center that sold sodas and ice cream that we took advantage of. We arrived at 3pm to the Wiley Shelter and decided to stay put because we had to resupply in the nearby town the next day.
Date: 2017-05-22
From: Wiley Shelter

To: Stewart Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: light rain

Today we resupplied at Bulls Bridge Market near Kent, Connecticut. It was a mistake because convenience store food is more pricey than food from the grocery store. It cost $58 for 2 days of food when it has normally been adding up to $30 or less. Seven and half miles of trail were closed due to recent wildfires. The wildfires bring out the rattlesnakes. Skipping these miles will not jeopardize our thru hike as it was a trail decision. I plan to return after settling in NY and hike the section we missed. We caught a ride with a local who took us around the closed area. That ride took about 10 minutes. If we had walked it would have taken 3 1/2 hours he said. We ended the day with a nice walk around Housatonic River and stayed at the shelter with a nice Austrian couple who were just out for a week long section hike.
Date: 2017-05-23
From: Stewart Hollow Shelter

To: Bearded Woods Hostel
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: clear sky

Today about 4 miles into the walk we had a little stream fording to do(see video on my facebook page).It wasn't too bad but I had to unzip my pant's legs and trade my hiking shoes for my croc camp shoes.We saw some guys on the trail that we had seen for the past few days and stooped to talk with them and it turns out one of them is Mike Campbell a Lenoir Rhyne running back who knew some Cherryville (my hometown) people that Uncle knows as well.It is a small world. I broke one of my trekking poles today. Luckily I had a spare at home that my dad kindly overnighted to me. Thanks Dad! We stayed at the Bearded Woods Hostel which was a great place. The hostel is owned by Hudson and his wife Lu. Hudson is  a 2 time thru hiker who rents out the bottom half of his home . We showered and rested well here. The next morning we enjoyed a full breakfast before heading out
Date: 2017-05-24
From: Bearded Woods Hostel

To: Laurel Ridge Campsite
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: heavy intensity rain

Today we were dropped off by Hudson the hostel owner where he picked us up yesterday. The day started with a nice flat river walk. We walked a 1/2 mile into Salisbury, Connecticut to resupply at a local grocery store. They had an awesome deli and I ate a delicious roast beef sandwich. We climbed Bear Mountain which is the highest point in Connecticut .The weather at the top  was good so we finally  had a beautiful view when we reached the top. We stayed at the Laurel Springs campsite that had a privy, bear box and picnic table. The only thing missing was a shelter. We crossed into Massachusetts today.
Date: 2017-05-25
From: Laurel Ridge Campsite

To: Jess's Treats private home
Miles today: 12.9

Today's trail was pretty rough going from the start. It was raining when we started and did not let up all day. It was cold and very windy. We first climbed up Mt. Race. It had .6 miles of exposed ridgeline and super windy and cold. Then we climbed up Mt. Everett which is 2600 feet. At the top there is no protection from the elements and it was very wet. We came down what is called "Jug End". It is super steep and rocky downhill that is a bout 2 miles long. Afterwards we took a break at a shelter and then continued 8 miles where Jess the home owner where we would be spending the night picked us up. She rents out the top area of her home to hikers.We were soaked and freezing when she picked us up. After settling in we ate at a BBQ restaurant near her home. It was pretty good but not up Carolina standards. It is supposed to be raining in the AM so it looks like a late start for us. Today we crossed the 600 mile mark.
Date: 2017-05-26
From: Jess Treats

To: Wilcox north shelter
Miles today: 12.9

Today we waited until 10:30am to start out because of the rain. We started out with no rain but we had to walk a mile through some fields. So, our feet were soaked to the bone after this which makes for a miserable day of hiking. It started raining about 2 hours into our hike and didn't let up all day. We had to walk up and down a lot of slippery rocks all day. I just received a new pair kf Brooks Cascadia 11 trail running shoes which are super comfortable, but they have no grip in the rain. This made some sections of the trail today more difficult than they should have been. We had the shelter to ouselves tonight.
Date: 2017-05-27
From: North Wilcox shelter

To: Upper Goose Pond shelter
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Today we woke up to no rain which was a great thing. The trail however was muddy and had pools of water on it all day long. We put on our wet clothes from the day before(my least favorite thing about thru hiking) and set out in the 50° weather. I ran into Jeykl on trail for the first time in a few weeks and had a little chat. We also ran into Mud and Flood a father son from NC section hiking for a couple hundred miles. The cabin we stayed at was awesome. It had a bunkroom for 14 people and each bunk had a mattress. The caretaker who stayed there was very friendly. In the morning he even cooked us pancakes for no charge. The night before he shared some chili with us. The place had it's own canoes you could use on the pond out front. It also had 3 privies and a nice was station. It was the best shelter we have come across by far. The caretaker canoed across the lake each morning to get clean water for hikers.
Date: 2017-05-28
From: Upper Goose Pond cabin

To: Campsite
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Today the weather was nice and clear again. The trail was still muddy. We walked in marshlands all day so our feet were wet once again. MA has beem my favorite section of trail so far. You walk through a dense forest full of hemlock trees among others each and every day. The trail has been very rooty though. Tonight we planned to stay in a shelter but when we arrived there must have been 30 boyscouts there. We left immediately and found a camp spot a half mile away by a nice creek.
Date: 2017-05-29
From: Campsite

To: Dalton
Miles today: 2.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Today the weather is once again very rainy. And the weather is cold. We hiked into Dalton MA where we planned to resupply. We stopped by a local motel to do laundry(4 days of wearing wet clothes, we smelled awful) and shower. While we were doing this the rain picked up and it was pouring. We decided to nearo and called a local shuttle guy named Tom Levardi. He drove us to the local grocery and then to the hotel. After we checked in we went to an all you can eat chinese buffet which was glorious.  Now were in for the night and hoping for better weather tomorrow even though the forecast says rain for the next couple days. We are supposed to climb over Mt. Greylock(highest peak in MA) Tuesday or Wednesday so hopefully the weather will be good for us.
Date: 2017-05-30
From: Dalton

To: Greylock summit
Miles today: 17.2
Weather: light rain

So today we woke up to rain once again. We nearoed yesterday to try and escape the rain but it didn't work out. At the end of our day we had planned to hike over Mt. Greylock down to a shelter 3 miles further north. I got to the summit first and found some shelter in a day use ski lodge shelter while waiting for Uncle. When Uncle arrived he came in as well. The shelter said no overnight stays unless it was an emergency. We weighed our options and decided to stay over night on the summit of Greylock, versus walking steeply downhill 3 miles to the shelter. About 9pm some local teenagers came in and I think Uncle and I ruined their late night plans
Date: 2017-05-31
From: Greylock summit

To: Seth Warner shelter
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: light rain

Today we started out with nice weather finally. We had 6.6 miles to a town with a grocery .5 miles away to resupply. After buying our food I was packing up outside the store when an older couple asked me how the trail was going. After some conversation they mentioned giving us a ride. They had a small car so David went with them while I waited with our bags. A little while later an suv pulls up. The guy went home and traded cars to be able to take both of us to the post office. It's amazing how nice people are to complete strangers. After the PO we ordered a pizza as it was 50% off for hikers. After eating we did another 7 miles to the shelter. It was a very steep climb as we left MA and crossed into VT. Jeykl and Ange whose niece Tasha had joined him for a few days were at the shelter.
Date: 2017-06-01
From: Seth Warner

To: Goddard shelter
Miles today: 21.6
Weather: broken clouds

Today was my first 20+ day of the trek. It was not an easy one either. Where the AT crosses VT 9 is probably one of the steepest longest descents and ascents we have hiked. It was the first ascent I had to stop going up and was actually out of breath with my ribs hurting if you know the feeling. The rest of the trail after that was short steep ascents and descents on the ridge line. The last .5 was straight up to the shelter. At the shelter there were a group of 5 Long Trail hikers. The AT and Long Trail(LT) run concurrent for 105.2 miles. So now we are competing for shelter space with LT hikers and AT hikers. They were good people though. All recent college grads. Today was the first day Uncle and I didn't end up at the same shelter together. He camped about 6 miles back with a guy calling himself Lone Wanderer.
Date: 2017-06-02
From: Goddard shelter

To: Story Spring shelter
Miles today: 8.9
Weather: broken clouds

This morning I woke up and waited for Uncle to get to the shelter. Lone Wanderer showed up a little before he did and let me know he was coming. After Uncle arrived we hiked 9 miles to the next shelter which made 15 for Uncle and 9 for myself. At the shelter were the same Lt kids and a through hiker from Switzerland named Skyman. He's a nice guy but doesn't speak too much as English is a 2nd language to him but his English is really good. We decided to set up our tents as the shelter was pretty full.
Date: 2017-06-03
From: Story Spring shekter

To: Manchester Center
Miles today: 21.1
Weather: broken clouds

Today we had a pretty steep climb up Stratton Mountain about 3 miles into our day. I made it to the top where the caretakers, who stay on the summit 5 months a year, greeted me and invited me into their cabin to warm up by the fire. It was in the high thirties on top of the mountain and raining of course. But I climbed the fire tower and snapped some pretty decent photos. As I was talking to the caretakers I received a text from Uncle saying that he was getting off trail due to some injuries he had. And thst he was staying in a hotel nearby. I was in shock! I said goodbye to the caretakers and hiked the remaining miles to the road that led to Manchester Center VT. I hitched a ride from the first car that came by and made my way to a hotel for the night. Uncle said that he would come by the next day and we would spend a final day together before he headed back to Cherryville NC to seek treatment.