morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-07-14
From: Carl A. Newhall Lean-to

To: Antlers Campsite
Miles today: 26.8
Weather: moderate rain

PJ wrote for the past week that he planned on finishing on the 18th of July. I didn't think I'd have any trouble catching them (Chino, PJ, Early Bird, Icebound) until I noticed that PJ's father dropped out in Gulf Hagas so now they plan on summiting on the 16th. Thinking I could catch them if I strung 2 35 mile days I pushed hard all day. I passed JR on Whitecap Mountain where he wished me luck. At the next shelter I talked to some south bounders that said they saw "Team Misleading" leaving White House Landing on the 13th heading for Rainbow Stream Campsite, a mere 21 miles from Katahdin Stream Campground. It wouldn't make sense for them to spend two days covering what they could easily hike in one, especially with Katahdin so close. When I reached this campsite, the one I had originally planned on staying at, it started pouring rain. I took shelter in the privy, very nice privy I might add, where I pondered sleeping on the privy floor. When I realized that the smell was not me I decided to let the rain calm down and pitch my rain fly. I could have made the next shelter (3.3mi) but with my luck i KNOW it's gonna be crowded. I'll take my luck with the mosquitoes (which are insatiable) wearing some deet and the bug next I found in a shelter south of Monson. Goodnight.
Date: 2005-07-15
From: Antlers Campsite

To: Rainbow Stream Lean-to
Miles today: 21.7
Weather: few clouds

I woke up facing the sunrise over the lake. Last night he mosquitoes would not leave me alone causing me to sleep poorly. Everything seemed to be dry except my sleeping bag The walk to White House Landing was faster than I expected, arriving at 10 AM (an hour before they start lunch). 10 minutes after I honked the air horn, Bill came across the lake in a motorboat and was much friendlier than I expected. Many sobos said he was rough around the edges but he was happy so see some nice weather. After the boat ride over I met Linda his wife who reminded me that I had to wait an hour before lunch started. She mentioned swimming off the dock in the meantime. I walked down, jumped in the water and was greeted by their dog whose name I didn¢t catch. She seemed curious as to why i was in the water and wanted to help me back up onto the dock. *dinner bell* Running back to the lodge I found Linda behind the counter waiting to take my order. White House is famous for their 1 pound hamburgers so I was not hesitant to order the deluxe and throw a 14" supreme pizza on the side. I must admit it was one of the best hamburgers I've ever had. Full from the burger I only managed to eat 2 slices of the pizza; no worries. The rest would be packed out and eaten for a late lunch or possibly dinner. In the meantime my sleeping bag sat out in the sun drying out in the hot 90 degree Maine sunlight. Back on the trail everything slowed down as it's hard to digest a full pound of lean beef. I felt sick until I stopped at a spring/sandy beach just off the trail. the water made me feel like throwing up so I ate some more pizza, laid down in the sand and fell asleep. I woke to find chipmunks trying to sneak off with my remaining pizza. They ran as fast as something that small can when I lunged out at them. Spring water, pizza and some sleep seemed to do the trick. Reinvigorated I got back on the trail to find that the 1st shelter was not far away. 8 miles to the next shelter and it was 5pm. I had to move on so I could make Katahdin Stream Campground tomorrow. Though it felt as I was moving at a slow pace, the miles went faster than I expected arriving at Rainbow Stream just after 8 pm. Pizza and coffee makes a happy hiker, time for bed. It's nice and chilly, no bugs but my companion is a snorer. Time for elbow magic. P.S. Baseball bat shelter floors rock.
Date: 2005-07-16
From: Rainbow Stream Lean-to

To: Birches Campsite
Miles today: 24.9

The shuffling of rodentia began around 10PM with mice running along the walls and just under the roof of the shelter. The heat of my sleeping bag forced me to lay sprawled out on the baseball bat shelter floor. Suddenly I woke to the sharp pain of small teeth grinding down on my right thumb. After initially pulling my hand away I swatted down where my arm previously laid to find nothing but wood. It was an easy decision to keep my hands inside the safety of my bag the duration of the night. Unfortunately the loud gnawing of mice feasting on food carelessly left unsecured kept me awake until morning where i found a bag which previously containing M&Ms that was consumed entirely leaving only mouse candy in its stead. I took it slow the first 10 miles to Hurd Brook Shelter where I met a couple weekenders. They pumped some water out of the stream and gave me a bit of their Gatorade mix. JR and marty joined me shortly after quickly snacking before the walk to Abol Bridge, the end of the 100 mile wilderness. The view north from the Bridge up to Katahdin was spectacular, leaving me in awe of what i will climb tomorrow. The three of us decided to take a short route to the Birches Campsite, the Blueberry Ledges Trail instead of the AT. It turned out for the best as Blueberry Ledges were a waterfall formation instead of the rock wall I expected. Water had cut through the soil to bedrock which was sanded down by the water forming waves of rock. The water was very low at the time; i cant imagine what the water rolling over the waves of rock in high current would look like. The 2nd reason I preferred Blueberry Ledges is because it allowed us to arrive at the campsite before 9pm, hours before we would arrive from the AT's official route. Dinner and some sleep will do well for tomorrow.
Date: 2005-07-17
From: Birches Campsite

To: Mount Katahdin, Baxter Peak
Miles today: 5.2
Weather: light rain

Marty's alarm went off at 1:30AM Groggy from only 3 1/2 hours of sleep we were slow to pack our bags. At 2:30 we were on the Hunt Trail with headlamps blazing a path through the darkness. The first mile to Katahdin Stream Falls was a breeze. As punishment for the easy initial ascent the mountain rose quickly up a rock staircase toward the ceiling of treeline. The trail suddenly broke out of treeline into increasingly steep boulders and incredibly technical climbing even without the added difficulty of total darkness. The climb melowed out breifly along the ridgeline before the extreemly steep ascent to the false summit and tablelands. After reaching the "Fragile Alpine Environment" sign that would have otherwise fooled me if not for repeated warnings from other hikers throughout the previous week. Once up to the Tablelands the climb returned to a hike and there was enough light to hike without headlamps. The fact that there was light meant that the sunrise was imminent and it became a race to the top. JR and Marty had gotten ahead of me through the steep section so I knew the summit was near when I saw two figures motionless on the horizion. When I recognized the Katahdin sign the race turned into a spring to the top. Marty snapped off a photo capturing me hugging the sign wht the sun rising in the background. We spent the next 4 hours lounging on the summit that we had claimed for ourselves before the day hikers would arrive. I walked out along the Knife's Edge to Katahdin's 2nd higest peak, a mere 20 feet shorter. The plan was to return to the base with JR and Marty so I was unable to continue along the knifes's edge to the toughest part where the trail is a mere 3 to 4 feet wide with 1500' vertical drops on either side.Back down to the base of the mountain I was amazed by the terrain I had covered in darkness the morning. My adventure of climbing Katahdin had ended and the journed of returning home had begun. We saw Jay while going down and met his mother at the base who gave us chips and salsa. We started walking out of the Park until it seemed pointless so we sat to wait for a ride. When it started raining I decided we weren't going to get anywhere sitting around and continued walking. After many cars passing w/o stopping and more than an hour of walking someone stopped to tell me that i was walking the wrong way. After a breif moment of insanity I regained my calm and started the walk back to where I started. A canadian couple picked me up to leave me jsut off of I-95. A woman stopped to take me south to Bangor where I got some dinner before heading on. It was starting to get dark but I had to get to Gorham, NH where I would meet JR and Marty at his car. A guy gave me a ride to "route 2" which was really an intersection in the middle of nowhere. After hours of trying to hitch I gave up, called a cab, got a ride back to Bangor and a hotel room for the night. Sleep... for the love of god... sleep
Date: 2005-07-18
To: Silver Spring; Home
Miles today: 0.0

7:30 AM I stood out with my thumb and a sign. 2 hours later with only a girl going the other way that yelled, "Baby you need a ride?" "Yeah, I need a ride... baby", I said to myself trying to contain the rage that reached a boiling point last night in the middle of nowhere. Defeated I decided to find a more convention means of transportation home. I called JR and Marty to inform them that they were on their own, weren¢t there... left a message. Options: Greyhound - $102 to Silver Spring; Greyhound to Boston, Amtrak to D.C. - $120+; Continental Airline from Bangor to D.C. - $675. Greyhound it is. The ride to Boston was easy enough but the transfer to New York was full so I had to wait for the next Bus. By the time I got to NY I had missed the last bus at 10PM so I was forced to wait until the next bus 5 1/2 hours later at 3:30AM. Half a book later, the bus came and dropped me off in Baltimore, MD at 7AM. Next bus was at 7:45 to Silver Spring and the final miles left to my home was covered by foot. The perfect end to my hike - walking home after the failing of modern, conventional means of transportation.
Date: 2004-12-15
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Jamie (Lost & Found) and Patsy (Sunshine) hiked the southern most 500 miles of the AT this past spring and summer. We heard so many good things about this website while we were on the trail that we had to check it out. It helped our transition back into the other world immensely.We wanted to start the journal now and let our friends know about it so they can check out other hikers stories.We did a lot of research and talked with several thru-hikers before we started our hike this past spring. It served us very well. However, much to our surprise, we totally underestimated the impact of the wonderful camaraderie that was out there between the hikers (and trail angels). We have made so many new friends; it was just amazing!I will put info in about our gear in the near future. We will be using the same gear, except for boots and a few small items. What we used worked well.
Date: 2005-01-09
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

We are getting excited about being back on the trail. Lost & Found has new Lowa boots with Gore-Tex that he is breaking in. Now that the holidays are over, we will start our training program in earnest. It includes frequent walks in the nearby parks of at least five mile hikes with packs that are mostly full, except food. L&F also climbs the stairs at his office building and stops at a gym to use the stair stepper. Sunshine belongs to a women's exercise club that does a lot with exercise machines and aerobics. It is time to start using the dehydrator again. We bought a book from the ATC on-line store titled "Dry It, You'll Like It". It had plans in it to build one ourselves. It works well.
Date: 2005-01-17
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I suppose that everyone wonders what the weather is like on particular sections of the trail. I know that Sunshine and I do. I have found a website that gives pretty good graphics of the weather conditions including temperature, wind, and rain predictions at the NOAA Weather stations along the way. Check them out by going to the NOAA website at www.erh.noaa.gov/radar/national.html. Once there, select the radar site you are interested in by clicking on the dot on the map. Next, click on the site homepage (found directly above the radar image). Then scroll down until you see the box labeled "Experimental Forecast Images". Click on it to get the recent weather info including temp, rain amounts, and wind speed.
Date: 2005-02-21
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

We are still counting the days until we start! We had good luck this weekend with a semi-annual sale at a local outfitter¢s and bought a new Marmot Titan tent for 50% off. It weighs 1 1/2 pounds less than our other tent. Sunshine and I were amazed at how many Christians and other religious people we met on our 500 mile hike last year. It was a real breath of fresh air and an unexpected pleasure. So many of the trail angels that we met and gave us rides or other help turned out to active in their churches. And, most of the people we met on the trail acted like Christians with their love and concerns for their fellow hikers. It was truly a wonderful experience.So why am I bringing this up now? Last year before Sunshine and I started our hike, we tried to find a way for our church community to be involved. We ended up taking pledges from a lot of church members with the money going to provide meals for the homeless and needy in our community. We are proud to say that we raised over $800 that all went toward that cause. We were recently given the challenge by our church to raise $1,000 during our hike this year. If anyone is interested in making a tax deductible donation, go to the churches website at www.stchristophersportsmouth.org. All money collected will be used by the church¢s outreach program. None will be used by us to support the hike. (I mention this for those people out there that are suspicious or jaundiced of people using other people¢s money to support their own hikes.) Any way, make your check out to St. Christopher¢s Episcopal Church and write "HIKE" in the memo block on the bottom of the check. Mail it to St Christopher¢s Episcopal Church, 3300 Cedar Lane, Portsmouth , VA 23703. You will get a statement back from the church to use with your taxes next year.We have been following with envy the hikers that are already on the trail. We wish them lots of adventure and hope that they stay safe!
Date: 2005-04-26
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

We are just about ready to leave for the trail. We've got our food, double checked our gear, and have a post office box started near our son Bill's home so that he can take care of our bills. Thanks Bill! One thing that we still need to figure out is the mail drops so that friends can send us cards again. We will post that before we leave. We will attempt to keep the journal up as best we can. Sometimes our son Ben will be making the entries after we talk on the phone. Thanks Ben!I am very grateful to my employer, PCCI, INC. for letting me take so much time off. We will head out to Mt Rogers on May 2nd or 3rd and head north and then jump off of the trail and go down to Damascus for Trail Days on the 13th of May.
Date: 2005-05-04
To: VA 603 near Grayson Highlands State park
Miles today: 0.0

We are driving to SW Virginia today and will start where we left off last year at VA 603 near Grayson Highlands State Park. Our next entry will be after we get to Partnership Shelter at Mt. Rogers headquarters. We are so excited and tired from getting ready. Can't wait to step on the trail again.Happy Trails!
Date: 2005-05-07
From: VA 603

To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 23.0
Weather: scattered clouds

We have hiked slowly for three days and arrived at the Partnership shelter in good shape. Neither one of us has any blisters or serious pains. All in all it has been a good start. We were surprised that we did not see many other hikers on the trail, only 6 or 7. Spotted 2 deer, 1 wild turkey, 2 chimpmunks, a large bird flying thru the trees with about a 3 foot wingspan, and several other colorful birds. Some flowers are in bloom.
Date: 2005-05-10
From: Partnership Shelter

To: VA 42
Miles today: 23.0

We hiked from the Partnership Shelter for three more days up to VA State road 42 and were lucky that a section hiker had his camper RV parked there. He had a cell phone with an antenna that we used to call for a shuttle. Thanks Wheels!! We had another good set of days getting our trail legs back. No blisters and our ankles and every thing else is stronger. Starting out with 35 pound packs vs 40+ pounds last year has made a BIG difference. Great views from the ridges of the valley below. Have had great weather. We will be off the trail until Sunday morning for Trail Days in Damascus. We wanted to hike farther, but there isn't any convienent place to get off the trail on Friday, so we will find a campsite near Damascus.Know that we are both well and happy!
Date: 2005-05-23
From: VA 42

To: Pearisburg
Miles today: 76.0
Weather: scattered clouds

We have had a wonderful time during this 9 days of hiking! Trail Days was a great experience for us. It was great seeing friends from last year's hike, especially Jig and Flatwheel. (Thanks for the shuttle assist!) It was great to also see Axeless, Breathless, and Mountain Squid! Our hike went fairly well with two exceptions; Sunshine developed a blister on her little toe and we left our newly refurbished treking poles in our car that was shuttled north. Mother Nature provided excellent hiking poles for both of us.The wild flowers have been beautiful, with many azaleas, rhodies, and lily of the valley. We also saw several pink lady slippers. The views along the way were breathtaking including the hawks that flew by at eye level. We have met several great hikers, both thru and section hikers. The town of Pearisburg has been very friendly and enjoyable.We look forward to our son Bill hiking with us near Mcafee Knob in about a week.
Date: 2005-06-15
From: Pearisburg

To: Jennings Creek/ VA 614 near Peaks of Otter
Miles today: 120.0

We have been very busy lately and do not have time to do a proper update with pictures right now. The views and places we have seen since we left Pearisburg have been just awesome! We especially enjoyed Dragons Tooth in the sun and McAfee Knob and Tinkers Cliffs in the rain and fog.It took over 200 miles for Lost N Found to finally fall down (in really black mud).   Later on that same day at the shelter Sunshine had to follow suit and fall down in really brown mud. We both had some pretty good laughs that day!On mother nature's side we watched a black snake try to get a small bird that we distracted because we were near it's nest. The snake missed, but... it sure was fast. We also saw a 3 foot long rattle snake that warned us before we got too close. Lost N Found did a funny two step jig and shudder step to back away from it. The snake did stick around and let us take pictures of it. We will post them some time in the future. Our next section will be 105 miles north to the southern entrance to Shenendoah National Park near Waynesburo, VA. One significant event for us will be to cross the James River. We live very near it in Suffolk, VA.We have been off the trail for a week to celebrate Sunshine's mother's 80th birthday in Michigan. It's been wonderful being with ALL the relatives and friends, but the trail calls us back. We are leaving shortly for the drive back to the AT and will start hiking again Friday morning. Both Sunshine and Lost N Found are in good health without blisters and have started to hike faster lately.Many thanks to Jig and Flatwheel for their hospitality on our way from the trail to Michigan. It was great to spend time with them and swap trail stories. Good luck to them both on their trail hike in the Alps next week.
Date: 2005-06-29
From: Jenkins Creek/ VA 614 near Peaks of Otter

To: Waynesboro
Miles today: 105.0
Weather: broken clouds

We have had a great time during the past two weeks, saw lots of deer, small critters, garter snakes, a bear cub, and startled another bear that we heard running away from us.We actually did a 16.1 mile day, from Maupin field shelter to Paul C. Wolfe shelter just south of Waynesboro. That was our longest day yet.It was great to see Bill Rogers and Tom Reed from Tidewater ATC at work on the trail doing maintenance. It was a very pleasant surprise to round a bend in the trail and see a familiar face! Thanks for what you do to keep the trail safe.We are on our way to Shenendoah National Park this afternoon to start the next 107 miles. We have completd 348 of the 600 we plan to do this year.
Date: 2005-07-20
From: Waynesboro

To: Gathland State Park, MD
Miles today: 173.0

We enjoyed eating our way through Shenandoah National Park! We had a great time hiking with our son Bill over the 4th of July weekend. We saw several bear, deer, snakes, and other critters. One of the highlights was watching two fawns suckling their mother while at Big Meadows campground.Patsy/Sunshine has gained strength and speed during this section. We now do 12 - 14 mile days without any concern. We just finished a 30 mile hike with both of our sons, Ben & Bill, that was special. We hit the 500 mile point, hiked all of West Virginia, into Maryland, and also stopped at the ATC Headquarters in Harper's Ferry, WV. Thanks to Ben and Bill for taking the time and making the effort to join us. It was very hot and humid, but we still had a wonderful time together. So hot that we were wishing for rain to hike in!We plan on heading out again in the morning to complete the hike by next Thursday, the 28th of July. 600 MILES!! WOO HOOOO!!
Date: 2005-07-31
To: Time to go home til next year
Miles today: 0.0

This is a late entry to wrap up this journal. We completed 600 miles from Southwest Virginia to Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania on 31 July 2005. Overall, we had a wonderful time, met a lot of really GREAT people, and got to hike through all of West VA and Maryland with both of our sons, which was a real treat for us. Sunshine actually had to slow down for them to keep up with us!We will be starting out again where we left off in PA and hike another 550-600 miles to get into Vermont starting around May 1st, 2006.Many thanks to our sons for helping us out with logistics and morale support.Many thanks to the good people at St. Christopher's Episcopal Church in Portsmouth, VA. They raised another $700 plus dollars in pledges per mile to help feed the needy in our area. Being on the trail helps us understand the meaning of the word HUNGRY. But unlike the needy, it was our choice.Stay tuned to our 2006 journal. I think we will have more opportunities to update it this summer.
From: HOLLY SPRINGS NC

To: PREPARATION FOR VA HIKE
Miles today: 0.0

LUMBERMACK AND I, ALONG WITH A FRIEND FROM CHURCH NAMED LEE WILL BE LEAVING FOR TROUTVILLE/DALEVILLE VA ON NOV 11 FOR A 2-3 DAY HIKE, HOPING TO MAKE IT TO VA614 ROAD CROSSING BY SATURDAY NOV 13. IF ALL IS WELL, LUMBERMACK WILL HIKE ON TOWARDS ROCKFISH GAP WHERE I WILL PICK HIM UP THE FOLLOWING FRIDAY (NOV18). THIS WOULD MEAN THAT WE COULD START OUT AT THE BASE OF THE SHENANDOAH NP IN APRIL. THE SHENANDOAH WILL ALWAYS BE NEAR AND DEAR TO LUMBERMACK AND I- IT IS THE FIRST PLACE WE REALLY DID ANY HIKING TOGETHER. IT IS ALSO THE FIRST PLACE WE ENCOUNTERED A BEAR AND A RATTLESNAKE TOGETHER. I WOULD LIKE TO THINK WE WILL NOT SEE ANY MORE OF THEM. MAYBE IN APRIL IT WILL STILL BE TOO COLD FOR THE SNAKES, MAYBE EVEN THE BEARS. I WILL UPDATE OUR 2005 JOURNAL FOR THE LAST TIME WHEN I GET BACK FROM VA THIS WEEKEND. FROM THAT POINT WE WILL BE UPDATING FROM THE 2006 SITE. I AM NOT SURE IF WE WILL BE USING THE SAME TRAIL NAMES OR NOT SO LOOK UNDER MACK AND KELLY SPAINHOUR FOR THE TIME BEING. MAY GOD BLESS OUR TRIP AND I PRAY THAT NEXT YEAR WILL BE THE YEAR FOR MACK TO COMPLETE HIS JOURNEY!! THANKS FOR ALL OF YOU THAT HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING OUR JOURNAL.