morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-05-21
From: Niday Shelter (681.0)

To: VA42 (671.0)
Miles today: 10.0

5/21Started the day off on the wrong foot. Since I came into camp last night in the dark I didn't recognize the trail. Since we were hiking SOBO I wanted to go south. The sun was out so south was obvious. I just went south without looking at the map. That is not always a good idea on the AT. After the trail started going down instead of up I got suspicious. Yup, I should have gone north to go "south". Oh well. The climb up Sinking Creek Mountain was hot, Amazon hot. It was killing me. I had sweat dripping off my elbows. It was miserable. I don't know what the dew point was but I bet it was 70. As I have mentioned before, the heat scares me. I just melt. The ridge was dry today. The walking was hard enough on the severely sloped rocks. I don't know how the folks did it yesterday on wet rocks. Saw my first rattlesnake today. It was pretty exciting. I filmed the encounter. Keffer Oak was the highlight of the day. This is the largest oak tree on the AT and sprouted before George Washington was born. It turned me into tree-hugger. We met up with Sa at VA42, completing this section we had gone around. Tomorrow the mile numbers will match again. Sa took Mugsy for a short walk on the AT north of VA42. Bad idea. I pulled over 100 ticks, yes 100, off of him. He didn't get the alternate trail name of TickMagnet for nothing. Ticks are in full bloom folks. Do your best to check for them. 6:58 duration 2516 ascent 2310 descent
Date: 2013-05-22
From: BRP (850.9)

To: Calf Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: few clouds

5/22No critters were hurt in the filming of yesterday's episode. Said goodbye to Sa and Mugsy as they dropped us off. Mugsy took it hard. He saw the backpack and poles and just couldn't understand why he wasn't going too. I'm hoping they can return in July. Since we went to Trail Days and had that gap to fill, we find all new hikers around us. We were in such a good bubble before and from the folks we met today this new trail family is off to a good start. It's kinda like when you were a kid and your parents move to a different town. That lunchroom has a lot of names to remember. It was hot again today. I'd take 20s over this heat any day. The day was split into two halves. The first seven miles got us to I-64 and from about there we entered the Shenandoah National Park. The trail was pretty easy, just hot, getting to SNP. SNP has the reputation of having some of the easiest miles on the AT. I was expecting to cruise. Was I wrong. The first six miles were pretty harsh. Add in the heat and I was whooped. I actually started to feel sick from the heat. Little did I know, there are like zero campsites along the trail. This is like the Smokies without the rules of no tenting. There just wasn't anywhere to tent. I was committed to get to the first shelter and wasn't going to have enough daylight to get there. Because of the heat I even considered hitching into Waynesboro. At the first road crossing a man pulls over and asks if we are thirsty. Heck yeah. He pops the hatch and had drinks on ice. Boy did I need that. After a Mountain Dew and Pepsi, no Diet Coke but I sure wasn't complaining, I was a new man. I had my second wind. For the final three miles it was one thunderstorm after another with heavy rain. At least that took care of the heat. I liked the trade. There were a few exposed areas in this section. The lightning made some of the traverses rather scary. We were the high points. I didn't see any cloud-to-ground lightning which was good. B-Rocket didn't like it too much when I said we needed to separate by about 40 feet. "Why?" "So one bolt doesn't take us both out."We got to the shelter under headlamp. My new batteries solved my previous issue with the new headlamp. I'm staying in a traditional shelter for the first time since the Smokies. I didn't like the mud-pit tent platforms I saw near the shelter. So far I am disappointed at the tenting options SNP has offered. I hope this gets better. 9:12 duration 2923 ascent 2628 descent
Date: 2013-05-23
From: Calf Mountain Shelter

To: Blackrock Hut
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: light rain

5/23Woke up to rain this morning. Just enjoyed sleeping late and listening to the rain. As best I could tell I only had two legit options for a destination, one being 13 miles and the other being 26. 26 was out of the question and 13 is cake, so I was in no hurry. The SNP has been very disappointing with regards to camping options between shelters. This makes planning worse than the Smokies. If the guidebook doesn't list a site it's quite a gamble to hike on. On just about every other part of the trail you can find places to camp all over the place. Even at the shelters here the camping options are few. But, I'm only 22 miles in, maybe it gets better. There were no highlights on the hike today, no views, no history, nothing, just hiking. I will say the trail is in great condition though, but there just seems to be very little to look forward to. The SNP has been, well, boring. But, I'm only 22 miles in, maybe it gets better. Lots of folks at the packed shelter tonight. They call them "huts" here instead of "shelters" for some reason. I actually found a rare flat piece of ground to tent. Wanderlust and Dutch are here. Those two saw four bears just before the shelter. It could be interesting. No earplugs tonight. 7:10 duration 2969 ascent 2992 descent
Date: 2013-05-24
From: Blackrock Hut

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

5/24Interesting night last night. No, it wasn't a bear, although something big was moving through the woods in the gully below me. Think small. I left the tent door slightly unzipped and around midnight a dang mouse came in. Now, it is much easier for a mouse to find its way into a tent than it is to find its way out. That sucker was doing laps inside the tent with me trying to find my headlamp. Those things are fast, Speedy Gonzales fast. ¡ndele! ¡ndele! ¡Arriba! ¡Arriba! After multiple failed attempts to catch it, I just unzipped the door all the way and suddenly it was gone, or was it? When packing up in the morning I checked everything. No hitch hikers allowed. That wasn't the only thing going on last night. I've mentioned them before, those %#?# whippoorwills. One of those insidious pests had perched itself on a branch just above my tent. It sang its horrific song for 7 long hours. I think it drove the mouse crazy too. Now, I have been asked, more times than I can count, "Do you carry a gun?" My stock answer is, "Maybe". I see no reason to give a definitive answer. I wish I would have had a shotgun last night. My camping buddies all agreed, even the ones that wouldn't step on an ant. That thing was a menace, worthy of being dispatched. If you have ever been tortured by a whippoorwill, you would understand. SNP showed its good side today. Right off the bat I had wonderful views at Blackrock Summit. Wonderful views continued all day. SNP has this reputation of being easy. OK, the tread way is mostly smooth, the climbs well-graded, but there is still a lot of elevation change. Look at those "ascent/descent" numbers below. They are very similar to NC. I was spent after 21 miles. Had my first SNP Blackberry Shake today. I give it good marks. I don't recall spending $15 on a cheeseburger, fries, and shake before, but look forward to doing it again. Real food after several days in the woods is just amazing. Add to that the additional appetite you have after hiking 900 miles, and just about everything tastes great. I am sick of Spam though. I complained about the heat a few days ago. Someone listened. I hiked in a light jacket, with temps in the 40s/50s today with brisk winds. Tonight is just dang cold. It might crack 40 tonight with strong/gusty winds. My summer gear is right at its limit. I still think I will sleep well. Met a couple White Blaze folks today. First was Iceman doing a section hike and then Blissful in her role as ridgerunner. I must have looked pretty bad after that final 1000' climb to end a 21-mile day. Blissful assumed I was just "out for the weekend" and seemed surprised that I was a thru. I guess I don't have "the look", whatever that is. 12:40 duration 4859 ascent 4472 descent
Date: 2013-05-25
From: Hightop Hut

To: Lewis Mountain Cabins
Miles today: 11.6

5/25Man, did it get cold last night and the winds were strong. About three days ago temps were in the upper 80s, now all of a sudden winter is back. I tried to record the temp on my watch but the batteries failed in the cold. I'm guessing we were near freezing at our campsite. I do know that folks at a parking lot at a lower elevation had to scrape the frost off their windshield. Add in the winds and the windchill was easily in the single digits. I had just swapped out my winter gear for summer three days ago too. This is another thing that makes camping in the SNP difficult. At almost any other place on the trail I would have found a place out of the wind to set up camp. Here you have to take what they give you, and in my case was in a location being blasted by the winds. Had I still had my winter gear, no problem. With my 45-degree bag I was pretty cold. With the spacing and locations of the shelters, one would be better off with a hammock or, with the trail crossing the Skyline Drive several times a day, slack-packing the thing. I just find tenting too restrictive here. With temps predicted to be similar for this evening, and not wanting to go through that again, we jumped at the chance to stay in a cabin. We were told the next shelter would be blasted by the winds as well. Right now there are five of us sharing a cabin and out of the cold. This meant for a short hiking day of just 11ish miles. Just I just type that? 11 would have been a solid day a couple months ago. We got Trail Magic (sodas) during the hike from Team Smyth. Four ultras are running the entire SNP this weekend and dad was their support crew. He had some extras and we were the lucky recipients. It's still amazing to me how much better I feel after getting a cold soda, especially when I have been without for awhile. I was kinda dragging before that Coke. I had been eating plenty of snacks but they just weren't cutting it. Afterwards I just shot up the next 600' hill. I don't recall caffeine being a part of the Krebs Cycle but it must do something. While walking through the campground to the cabins we hit Trail Magic again. This time a family was having a late lunch and asked us to join. Our packs were off in about five seconds. The mashed potatoes, corn, sun chips, Gatorade, and ribs, yes ribs, hit the spot. Still while walking to get our cabin we ran into Roger, who had give B-Rocket and I sodas a couple days ago. It turns out he was feeding hikers 0.1 miles up the trail. So, after checking in to the cabin we headed over to his spread. And what a spread it was. We could make a sandwich Dagwood would have been proud of. Wanderlust, Dutch, and Sunshine showed up with a bunch of other hikers. A staggering amount of food was consumed. You may be wondering how we can eat that much food. At this point in a thru-hike a hiker is either hiking or eating, sometimes both at the same time. 5:50 duration 2631 ascent 2336 descent
Date: 2013-05-26
From: Lewis Mountain Cabins

To: Pinnacles area
Miles today: 20.6

5/26Slept in a bit longer than I planned and headed over to the camp store. Grabbed a Diet Coke and a calzone for breakfast. Hit the trail a bit after 9:30. Had plans for 21 or 23 miles so really should have started earlier. Fortunately this was the easiest hiking day of the whole trip. There was still a decent amount of climbing to do but the trail was mostly smooth. The weather was the best possible for me, right on the edge of jacket/no jacket. Met a lot of great people on the trail today. Had a chat about how the Nats were doing. A lot of folks where really interested in the hike. I even met a man from the CIA. I can't give his name out of fear Patrick Fitzgerald will come after me. Along with the late start I killed a lot of time just yacking, funny that huh? Stopped at Big Meadows Wayside for lunch which killed over another hour and added almost a mile to the day. I just had to have another one of those Blackberry Milkshakes. I think the good food aided my hiking. I had a high energy level all day. I even surprised myself at how hard I could power up that last climb of the day. I'm sure the wonderful weather played a part too. The hot stuff is set to come back soon, with four days in the 90s starting on Wednesday. These big-mile days will probably be coming to a screeching halt. I may have to get into the pattern of taking some naps during the hottest part of the day in an effort to keep my energy level up. I've learned just hiking on in the heat about kills me. With all that went on today we still got done before it was completely dark. We are camped at a location that I "think" is within the rules. It probably isn't as legal campsites virtually don't exist away from shelters. The trail is nearly always within a quarter mile of a road. We were afraid that the shelter spaces and tent spaces would all be taken at the next shelter and AWOL's guide lists a grand total of ZERO campsites outside of shelter areas. That said, no one will know we were here after we leave. 11:23 duration 4012 ascent 4101 descent
Date: 2013-05-27
From: Pinnacles area

To: Gravel Springs Hut
Miles today: 20.1
Weather: overcast clouds

5/27I awoke to the sounds of song birds motorcycles. There is a saying, "Loud pipes save lives". Well, they make on heck of an alarm clock too. My fears yesterday about that next shelter not having any free tent sites turned out to be correct. Being that it was a holiday weekend many folks just hiked in a mile from the parking lot. All tent sites were used up. I was lucky to stop where I did, legal or not. Last night was the first time I had hung my food from a tree while on the AT in years. I don't even carry rope on the AT. I will use a bear cable/pole if one is nearby but my food is usually under my head. Because of our proximity to a picnic area last night we decided to hang using B-Rocket's stuff. I have some rotator cuff issues making the necessary throw problematic. B-Rocket decided to give it a try. Son of a Gun, the ex-softball player got it on the first throw. I think our hang was textbook, over 10 feet high and over 4 feet from the trunk. The plan today was for another 20 and hoping the miles came as easy as yesterday. For the most part they did. The one big difference was the the harsh/rocky descent, early in the day, to Thornton Gap. On paper it looked easy but the loose rocks beat up my feet/ankles/knees/hips. That's all. It weakened me for the miles to come. I never felt comfortable the rest of the day. Met some new folks that are tenting/hammocking at the shelter this evening. Nite Rider started in early March. Misery and White Russian are the first thrus I have met that started in April. All these folks did 28 miles today. Obviously I will probably not see them again. I got plans for a special day tomorrow. I hope everything falls into place. 10:45 duration 3806 ascent 4649 descent
Date: 2013-05-28
From: Gravel Springs Hut

To: Front Royale Terrapin Station Hostel 
Miles today: 10.0

5/28What a long day, and that's a good thing. Had one of the easiest days of hiking on the trip. The trail was smooth with nice sloping for climbs. I easily got the 10 miles in before noon, even with hiking past my turn to the hostel. I actually hiked out of the SNP before realizing. I'm calling today a "Nero" since I got to my planned destination before noon. I took my buddy's, Crash Bang, advice and am staying at the Front Royale Terrapin Hostel. It was a great call. Another buddy of mine in Illinois had hooked me up with a friend of his near DC. Today I would be picked up and taken to DC for a Nationals baseball game. I even had time to clean up and do laundry before the car arrived at 3pm. Steve arrived at the hostel at 3. B-Rocket and I were on our way to Washington. Steve even had time to give us a little tour of the city before heading to the park. I decided on the "biker look" for my pic with the Capitol. We weren't just going to a Nats game, we were going in style, starting with parking in the player's lot. After a requisite brat and Diet Coke it was off to our seats behind home plate. B-Rocket had never been to a MLB game and seemed to like it. There were six home runs in the game so I guess the old adage, "Chicks dig the long ball", really does apply. The Nats beat the Orioles 9-3. The only snag was not getting to see Bryce Harper play (knee), but I did get to see Manny Machado Steve even had some matching caps for us. All in all, this has probably been one of my favorite days on the trip. I have missed talking baseball with folks that love the game as much as me. Steve got us back to the hostel by 1am and it was back to hiker-life. 4:42 duration 1742 ascent 2008 descent
Date: 2013-05-29
From: Trico Tower Trail

To: Front Royale Terrapin Station Hostel 
Miles today: 16.1

5/29Mike, owner of Terrapin Station, shuttle Techie, B-Rocket, and myself 17 miles upstream for a SOBO slackpack. We often do more than that on a slack but the road crossings didn't cooperate. It turned out that 17 in this heat was enough anyway. I'm sure some of you have heard about the cicadas this year on the east coast. I am very familiar with them in Illinois. Today was the first time I had seen them en masse. Above and left is a pic of a cicada in the process of molting. After being free of the shell, it takes time for their wings to dry. Once dry they can fly to the "party". The hiking today was fairly easy with the heat slowing me down. It was nice to be going back to hostel to shower up and throw the clothes in the laundry again. In the last two days we hiked 26ish miles, got a tour of DC, and took in a baseball game. That's a lot of livin' for 36 hours. The contrast of trail, DC, and back to the trail was surreal. 8:46 duration 3530 ascent 3245 descent
Date: 2013-05-30
From: Trico Tower Trail

To: Morgan Mill Stream Campsite
Miles today: 14.2

5/30It was tough leaving Mike and the Terrapin Station Hostel. Crash Bang was right, this was a must-stop kind of place. Mike is a wonderful host with lots of interesting stories about his AT and PCT thru-hikes. Mike is also a Grateful Dead junkie, surviving 130 concerts. For you thruhikers behind me, put this place on your map. Read the directions carefully. I missed the turn. The good news is that if you miss the turn, you get to the SNP kiosk very soon after. If that happens to you just go back the .2 and turn left at the first post. I am one of the only thrus to not see a bear in the Shenandoahs. I haven't seen a bear on this whole trip. In fact I have never seen a bear on ANY of my hikes on the AT. They must fear me. I'm told that the SNP will refund the price of your permit if you don't see a bear. Being that I have no pics of AT bears I will post the following from a trip to Manitoba. This is a male in his prime. The hiking today was miserably hot. I had to shorten my day from the planned 17 down to 14. Fortunately some trail angels had left some sodas/fruit in a cooler. These kind souls wouldn't believe how much we appreciate their kindness. Thank you Shellie and one other unknown angel. We entered the infamous Roller Coaster late in the afternoon. Since I cut my day short my recent hiking family is about 3 miles ahead of me. I will try to get up early and catch them, but they might be gone for good. I just cannot hike the miles that they can in this heat. I am at a wonderful campsite with one other hiker named "Fatty". She is from Calgary. She is by no means fat and in fact had been doing triathlons prior to her thru. She caught me off guard when she said this thru-hike was less activity than her normal training. Huh? My jaw dropped. I have been hiking up and down mountains for almost three months. Counting the Approach Trail I have now hiked 1000 miles. I have lost over 40 pounds. This is the hardest thing I have ever done. Nothing is close. For someone to tell me that this activity was less than their normal life was mind blowing. 9:01 duration 2290 ascent 3530 descent
Date: 2013-05-31
From: Morgan Mill Stream Campsite

To: Blackburn AT Center
Miles today: 14.5

5/31Got up early in an attempt to beat the heat. By 7am I was sweating buckets. I was just trying to make the 6 miles to Bears Den Hostel and call it a day. Met up with B-Rocket on the way and she put an end to that plan. Once at Bears Den, Fatty was there as well. Being the last day of May and being hot reminded me of on of my favorite songs:Parched land, no desert sand The sun is just a little dotAnd a little bit of water goes a long way'cause it's hot (it's hot)They're OK the last days of MayBut I'll be breathin' dry airI'm leaving soonThe others are already there (all there)I lit up when I opened the fridge and saw Diet Coke for 50 cents a can (I drank 6). We took a 2-3 hour break to recover from the heat. The break did me wonders. By mid afternoon it was time to get going. Shortly after leaving Bears Den we got to our biggest milestone of the trip, the 1000- mile marker. In true AT fashion the landmark was a piece of paper bungee-corded to a tree. It was cheesy but appropriate. A couple miles later we said goodbye to Virginia and hello to West Virginia. A bit later the the Roller Coaster was over. With temps approaching the 90s the past couple days I found the Roller Coaster exhausting. In cooler weather I bet it is fairly tame for a thru-hiker. A bunch of us are staying at the Blackburn AT Center tonight. The ATC allows hikers to sleep in a bunkhouse or on the porch. I chose the porch. Tomorrow we should make it to Harpers Ferry. 9:57 duration 4288 ascent 3648 descent
Date: 2013-06-01
From: Blackburn AT Center

To: Harpers Ferry: ATC
Miles today: 11.9

6/1It was a hot but fairly easy 12 miles into Harpers Ferry. I did not notice that water sources would be lacking or I would have started with more. As I get into PA planning for water will be more important. Fortunately there was a restaurant, Torlone's Pizza, .3 miles off the trail at about the 6-mile mark. "Which Way", a 6-week section hiker, joined us for the short detour to the restaurant. Having pizza for lunch and washing it down with glass after glass of Diet Coke is something I could get used to on the trail. The waitress even offered to fill up our water bottles, so we were set for the next 6 miles no matter how hot it was. We got to the ATC sometime around 3pm. We logged in and had our pictures taken, as is the tradition when hikers reach the ATC. B-Rocket was #285 and I was #286. I was kinda surprised at how relatively thin I looked in my picture. B-Rocket had met a nice couple in the Smokies who had offered her assistance once she made it to Harpers Ferry. Judith and Dave picked us up at the ATC and drove us to their house in Gaithersburg, MD. Their website on Trail Journals is Love and Peace. As a bonus there was a 7-11 a block away and I had my first ever Slurpie. It won't be my last. Their son, Mark, and his fianc©, Marissa, ordered some Thai food for us. To my shock I could not finish my fried rice....the horrors. Are Slurpies really that filling?The weather looks bad for tomorrow and my feet are crying for a break. I have successfully negotiated a zero day. 5:45 duration 1802 ascent 2626 descent
Date: 2013-06-02
From: Harpers Ferry: ATC

To: Harpers Ferry: ATC
Miles today: 0.0

6/2Oh glorious zero days, sleep late, eat, nap, eat, nap, oh, and a bit of journaling. We actually did a bit more than that. At 11 we went to Love and Peace's church to chat with the youngins about the Appalachian Trail. I brought my pack but they only seemed interested in my trekking poles. They were intrigued with those things. I got to watch a whole Cardinal game in the afternoon, had another Slurpie, and took that nap. Zero days are suppose to be relaxing. Here is a video of why many call the AT the Green Tunnel:And here is a video I took awhile back of a harmless Black Rat Snake: