morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-04-20
From: Quality Inn

To: Quality Inn
Miles today: 0.0

We got 2 rooms and Cassidy kept calling our room because she thought that was just too cool. We got up went and had our breakfast of waffles and cereal at the hotel then we went over to the Methodist church since it was Sunday again. Then I called Tom Brown to let him know that I was back in town and I would love to have him and his wife go to dinner with us. (He happened to be out of town for the week) We went to the AYCE steak place and I had 3 bowls of cobbler once again. I couldn't quite get the 4th down. Zman had some issues with his stomach because he had eaten some ice cream at dinner. Then we went to the outfitter where I bought all new gear. On our way we passed one of the laundry mats and I saw a hiker so I almost pulled in but I decided to continue onto the Outfitter. Where I purchased a new Osprey Atmos, a new hat, deet, water bladder and hose, sleeping bag silk liner, and wanted shoes but they didn't have my size. I called Harpers and they happened to have a pair in my size so I put them on hold. Zach and I got up and did laundry after church. While we ware at the outfitter my phone rang and I thought it was Tom Brown but it turned out to be Spence, One Flop, and I asked where he was and he told me they were in Waynesboro and I said I'm in Waynesboro and Spence said your in PA already. I said no in VA. He couldn't believe I was in the same town as him. After our shopping was done at the outfitter we went to pick up the boys at the laundry mat and they were just folding up their clothes so that was perfect timing. That reminded me of a story back in Damascus where the boys were doing laundry and some how the laundry got mixed up and the boys couldn't figure out how it happened. Any way after we picked them up and the introductions were finished we took the boys over to the grocery store and then out to eat at Subway. From there we went back to the outfitter then took them back to the mountain and we headed off to Harpers Ferry.
Date: 2008-04-21
To: Trailfoot
Miles today: 0.0

I have been off trail for a couple days and sitting at Harpers Ferry updating the journal. I was picked up at Linden VA 55 on Saturday 4/19/08 and headed down the Parkway to meet up with Liquid but the phone coverage was spotty and when I got coverage it wasn't for long. I found out Liquid was not at the Lodge but at Luray so we headed down to the Outfitter and met up with him and his parents. Then we went to Waysboro and spent the night. I got up in the moring and did laundry with my son and then came back and did breakfast. After breakfast we did church and then headed over to the outfitter. I had called Tom Brown one of my Trail Angels in Waynesboro to see if he wanted lunch on Sunday. While I was at the Outfitter my phone rang and it was Spence. He and Hurricane were in Waynesboro so we hooked up with them and took them to Krogers, Subway, Outfitter, and then back to the trail.Trailfoot
Date: 2008-04-21
From: Quality Inn

To: Quality Inn/ Front Royal
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Weather was rainy todayWe had a little issue finding a hotel with a pool that is open. Most pools in the south are outside and are not open yet. We found a hotel with an indoor pool but they had a party last night and the pool got something in it that they shut it down. So we opted for a cheaper hotel down the road. The kids were not too happy with the hotel not having a pool. We drove through Harpers and found out the lay of the land and how the trail goes through the town. So we headed back up the street and stopped at the Outfitter and talked to the owner and assistant for quite some time. I picked up my new shoes and purchased a North Face rain jacket to replace the Frogg Toggs. The jacked took up less space in the pack. We also met the manager of Bear's Den. He is from Michigan as well. Then we headed down to the ATC where we did some shopping and looked at all the cool stuff they had on display. The kids liked the 3D map of the entire trail. Then the family and I went to the Italian restaurant and had pizza for dinner. I started to get a game plan together with Jordan and decided that I should do a huge day instead of a medium day to catch up with him when I get back on trail.Headed towards Linden to find that there isn't any hotels there only a PO so we went to Front Royal and stayed the night at Quality Inn.
Date: 2008-04-22
From: Linden, VA

To: Bear's Den Shelter
Miles today: 25.0

Trailfoot had to say goodbye to the family again and started on his way. We dropped him off in Linden and hikes in a little way with him a 7ish this morning. He found out he was only about 45 minutes behind Liquid so he put in a big day back on the trail and made it all the way to Bear's Den Shelter. He put in about 25 miles today (with new shoes I may add). He just needs to get back into the swing of things again (no worries)!!!!Johnna
Date: 2008-04-22
From: Quality Inn/ Front Royal

To: Bears Den
Miles today: 26.0
Weather: light rain

Packed up went for breakfast and then jumped in the car and headed to VA55. I cut the time with the family a little short so that I could catch Liquid. Johnna and the kids hiked with me for about a mile before they decided to turn around and go back to the car. Johnna and the kids didn't mind me cutting their visit short by a couple hours (so they said). I felt bad leaving them early though since they flew and drove so far to see me and I haven't seen them for a month and a half. I guess this is the trails way of making sure I get back into the swing of hiking the trail. I was nervous about visiting the family as I have heard it's pretty tough for the next couple days after they leave. It sure was tough leaving the family. I felt pretty bad after the family left.Crossed lots of streams today. Passed Dick's Dome shelter on a mad sprint to catch Liquid. When I reached Liquid I commented that he had to stopped at the dome because it was a unique trail. Some of the stream crossings took some acrobatic maneuvers to get across them. Walked across a grassy section that I envisioned some civil war battles taken place here. The trail has become a little creek and is very muddy. Figures since I have new shoes on. They always get soaked within the first two days on the trail with them. Met Liquid at the Sam Moore Shelter and when we took off we started the ROLLER COASTER (10 peaks in 13 miles). Liquid had wrote in the shelter journal that he was waiting in line for the Roller Coaster. He had been having a rough day today and I tried my best to cheer him up as I was on a high from seeing my family but also on a low because the family has left. We came across a pretty deep creek that looked like a challenge to get across as there were not many exposed rocks to hop across but there was a tree that fell into the creek and covered about 3/4 of the creek. We could jump to a rock and climb onto the tree and climb up the tree at a pretty good angle. I let Liquid go first and got the video out to tape him just in case he fell in. He wobbled a little but he made it across. I followed suit and I made it across as well.Went from a Hotel to a Hostel. Boy how life is rough out here. The Bear's Den was an excellent hostel and we rather enjoyed the hospitality. We had a pizza, two Dews, and a pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream during our stay.PS Jordan killed his shoe today. He cut a large hole on his left shoe by his small toe. This resolved his foot issue but the hole did allow dirt and small rocks to get into the foot bed of the shoe.
Date: 2008-04-23
From: Bears Den

To: Ed Garvey Shelter
Miles today: 26.9
Weather: scattered clouds

On trail by 7:15Had pancakes for breakfast before we left and took one last warm shower. I did weigh myself at the Bears Den and I came in at 160. I don't believe that scale. There was a guy that jumped on the scale and he weighted in at 165 and he said that he weighted himself at home 2 days ago at 174.Went through the Devils Race course today which was quite the bolder scramble. Stopped by David Lesser Shelter for Lunch. The David Lesser shelter was very nice it had a pavilion with a swing where I setup for lunch. While I was swinging away I saw a black and gray salamander squirming it's way through the leaves. The shelter had a nice deck with some Adirondack chairs.The new back pack is not fitting well. I noticed that the hips are bruised up and the shoulders are pretty sore. When we got to the Outfitter in Harpers they were kind enough to work with the outfitter in Waynesboro to get me a large. (That pack fit me and rode well the rest of the trip). We had planned on going to the ATC and then to the Outfitter and sleeping somewhere in MD tonight. When we arrived at Harpers, Liquid and I ran into Felton and Double Cheese (met him for the first time at the ATC). Felton had replaced almost all his gear at the outfitter and lost 15 lbs. He felt like a new hiker. He was all but running down the trail. Donkey was at the ATC the day before with Stormin Norman, Water Bear, and the Unknown Hiker. We had 8 NOBO thruhikers at the Ed Garvey Shelter. That is 40% of the hiker this far north. The Ed Garvey shelter was nice. It had a loft with a latter on the back side of the shelter. The loft was an A frame with windows and a banister. The AT logo was put into the banister. The unknown hiker, stormin norman, and water bear stayed up stairs. The door had a squeeky spring on it that had some power and would slam shut.Got some blisters on the heels from the new shoes and they scraped up the sides of the heels as well.
Date: 2008-04-24
From: Ed Garvey Shelter

To: Ensign Cowall
Miles today: 24.8
Weather: clear sky

Made it to MD and the 1,000 mile mark yesterday. Feet are not feeling very good today. The sides of the heel are really sore for some reason. I think I picked up some rocks up on the bike path we walked on yesterday and I failed to dig them out until we got to the end of the bike path.Took a break at the Washington Monument where Stormin Norman, Water Bear, and the Unknown Hiker caught us. Stormin Norman has a solar battery charger that he was charging up since it was a very sunny day and around 70. We stopped by the visitor center before the monument and the pop machine was empty once again but I plugged in the phone for a little while.Met Sasquatch today while we were hiking. Felton had hiked with him previously and knew him very well. He even left a few beers in the spring where we got our water for tonight and tomorrow. Met a couple section hikers that were at the shelter and one had an old black lab. The lab probably shouldn't have been out here as it wasn't getting around very well. We were going to spend the night at BonePac's but I was the only person that wanted to so we didn't.Trail today was very rocky maybe insanely rocky coming into MD 17. There were ankle biters and bolder scrambles. It would have been nice to have some views but there were none to be had.
Date: 2008-04-25
From: Ensign Cowall

To: Tumbling Run Shelters
Miles today: 18.1
Weather: clear sky

FridayDid 10 miles and made it to PenMar Park by 11:38 We should have had pizza but the pizza place doesn't open till 4pm. There were 3 guys doing some geo cashing that were very generous to take our group photo. After finding out that the pizza was closed we asked the guys where the grocery store was and they weren't too sure. One of the guys offered to take a few of us to the grocery store. Well all of us went except Donk and Double Cheese. The guy showed us how his geo cashing works on his laptop as he was driving. It was quite the experience and rather enjoyed it. They 3 guys are going to cash 24 things today. Stopped at the Antietam shelter which was by a stream where Donk and Liquid went in to get refreshed. The stream was pretty cold. We then went to the ball field and used the spigot to get water. Then hiked off1.2 miles to Tumbling Run Shelters. Yes that's right shelters is plural meaning 2. One for snorers and one for non-snorers. Felton and Double Cheese stayed in the snorers shelter. As we were doing our final chores before bed a section hiker pulled in and setup camp behind us. We offered the shelter but he didn't accept. He pulled in with a pretty good size pack carrying a camp chair, big box which had his CD player, and CD's. During the night it rained like cats and dogs. This guys camp chair was out in the rain all night and was soaked. His pack will be heavy in the morning.The feet are looking terrible.
Date: 2008-04-26
From: Tumbling Run Shelters

To: Birch Run Shelter
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: clear sky

Trail rock scrambles and a really nice river walk on a pretty smooth trail.Reached Quarry Gap Shelter for lunch where we met a group of PATC trail maintainers. The shelter was another dual shelter but this one had a breezeway between the two and they had some games for hikers to play. It was a pretty cool shelter. The maintainers were working on staining the tent platforms. Donk ended up taking a snooze while we were there. We reached the Birch shelter to find 4 scout groups at the shelter and of course the shelter was full with one troop and a husband wife team. There was a discussion amongst us and DC and Felton decided to hike on to Tom Run Shelters and Donk, Liquid and myself would stay put. We told DC and Felton we would pick them up in the morning as we walked by.Donk decided he didn't want to sleep on the floor in the shelter so he put his tarp tent up under some pine trees. Then there were 7 yellow Eurika tents out in front of us which housed an entire troop. They had stacked their pack between 2 trees and ran a tarp over them in case of rain. Well that troop became our entertainment for the evening. It started to poor thats right it poured not sprinkle.... poured. The troop in the yellow tents scurried for their tents as quickly as possible when someone sent one poor smuck out to check on the packs. He got out of the tent, put his rain coat on, and ran over to the packs and looked at them. Then ran back to the tent took his coat off put it on top of the tent unzipped and climbed into the tent. Then he unzipped a window grabbed his coat. Then a few minutes later he was sent out once again to inspect the packs.The husband wife team were great. He wants to hike the trail and was asking a lot of questions that we were more than happy to answer. She said that he could hike the trail but he wants to hike in 4 years and she mentioned she wants kids NOW. So I suggested that he take off next year or he just might miss his chance. I hope he listens to my advice on this one. Once you have kids it definitely makes it more difficult on you as the hiker.
Date: 2008-04-27
From: Birch Run Shelter

To: Alec Kennedy
Miles today: 25.4
Weather: overcast clouds

How fitting that on my Mom's birthday I reach the real half way point. Happy Birthday Mom and it's my wife's Birthday as I type this. On trail at 7:50. Made it to Pine Grove Furnace at 9:50 where the 1/2 gallon ice cream challenge is located. Now I should get the atmosphere set for you. This mornings temperature is probably in the 40's and no sun. When the store opened at 10am Donkey legs, Liquid, and myself went into the store and purchased a 1/2 gallon of ice cream for each of us. Donk chose mint chocolate chip, Liquid chose chocolate, and I chose Cherry Jubilee all the ice cream was from Hersey since we are in PA. Now Donk was very impressive he ate his in 12 minutes on a cold day. It was quite the site to see. I did mine in one hour and Liquid didn't really want to try as he thought he might throw up and we had a lot of miles to do yet.Now you might remember that the three of us were to meet up with Felton and DC but for some unknown reason they had moved on from Toms Run Shelters by the time we got there so we figured they would be at the Pine Grove Furnace store. When we arrived there they were not there either. When we finally caught up to them they thought the sign said they were closed. But it said they opened on the weekend at 10:00am and they did. After the Pine Grove Furnace we came across the 1/2 point sign that has been standing for some time now and really isn't the 1/2 way point will all the reroutes that the AT goes through over time. The true 1/2 point for this year was between Toms Run Shelters and PA 233 at mile 1088.1Met Boots and Shuffle Foot today at the shelter. So there are 7 of us at the shelter tonight.Trail today was pretty smooth walking through the Pine Grove Furnace area was nice. The cherry bomb and minty fresh started today. Today I had decided to create a duck tape sock on both feet to see if I can get my feet to heal up. Which works as long as you don't have to walk through a lot of water during the course of the day.
Date: 2008-04-28
From: Alec Kennedy

To: Darlington Shelter
Miles today: 18.2
Weather: moderate rain

Destination today is Darlington Shelter but we have a pit stop to make in Boiling Springs where everyone is looking to hit the outfitter to get new socks. As our luck has it the outfitter is closed today and mainly caters to fishermen. We made the town stop worth our while by hitting the gas station for a few items and then getting a breakfast bagel from a little cafe in town. Yogi another ride to a grocery store that turned out to be another gas station. It was a rainy day and we had to hike across a few wet grassy fields and Jordan decided to use his rain kilt today and it worked very well I might add.Trail was pretty great. Nice and smooth and pretty rock free. The trail was very wet and muddy, we even had to cross under a bridge that was flooded. Liquid decided to walk through it and the rest of the gang went up and around. I watched Jordan and decided to walk through myself. This meant that my feet will be soaked soaked which will not allow the duck tape socks to hold. I went anyway and I did pay the price later on in the day.Hit the I-81 overpass today where I hit my wall. My feet were just screaming at me. So much that I let the guys hike ahead of me. I was falling farther and farther behind the boys as we hiked through a grassy field.Hit the Darlington shelter at 3:00 Shuffle Foot and Boots arrived later in the evening. Tomorrows goal is to hit Duncannon PA. Wish my feet felt better to do the extra 7.3 miles to the next shelter tonight.
Date: 2008-04-29
From: Darlington Shelter

To: Duncannon PA Doyle Hotel
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Tuesday Left trail at 6:45 and arrived in Ducannon by 10:30. The climb down into the Duncannon was a real treat with wet rocks.Shufflefoot gave me a can of Curad spray bandage that worked pretty good at protecting my feet from rubbing socks and shoes.Went over to Goodies for breakfast first thing and got a great pancake, eggs, toast, sausage, and OJ breakfast for under $6. Went to the Doyle and got a room. Donk, Liquid and myself shared a room and Felton and DC shared a room. Donk and I got the bed and Liquid got the floor. Jordan did the laundry for Donk and I. I went and took a HOT bath to soak the feet for awhile. Then we went down to the Doyle for lunch and dinner. Boy do they know how to cook some grub. The chili was to die for and the Angus burgers with fries are not too shabby either. When we came into town we met the infamous Mary Parry. She pulled over and told us that if we needed anything while we are in town to let her know and she will do what ever she can to assist. Her car had all kinds of hiker names written on the roof of the car. To get your name on the car you have to ride in her car.The local grocery store has a shuttle service that will pick up hikers at 4pm at the Doyle and we took advantage of that today and also hit the pharmacy next door.We decided to call Mary today to get a ride to the outfitter in Harris but she was working. She told me that we could use her car and she threw me the keys and gave me directions to the outfitter that was a long ways away. We thought the directions were confusing but they were spot on. We drove directly to the outfitter. A lot of socks were purchased that day and a few other little items. We stopped by a Lowe's to look for a few items as well. The fist Lowe's trip on the AT. I gave the wheel over to someone else to drive back and we ended up getting lost and across the other side of town. So we went minor grocery shopping and hit McD's. Donk and I looked at the map to figure out how to get back to Duncannon and made it back in no time. We all signed her car for her. When we got back I took the keys to Mary and Shufflefoot walks in asking her for a ride to the outfitter.
Date: 2008-04-30
To: Trailfoot
Miles today: 0.0

Yes that is right I'm officially 1100+ miles. I passed the 1/2 way point a couple days ago. As tradition has it on the trail one must eat a 1/2 gallon of ice cream at the 1/2 way point. Well 3 of us started the competition one completed the challenge in 12 min, one completed in 1 hr, and the other only got 1/8 of the ice cream down. A guy named Donkey Legs finished in 12 min eating mint chocolate chip, I finished in 1 hr eating vanilla w/ cherries, and Liquid didn't finish his chocolate. To top it all off the day we rolled in was very very chilly. It must of been in the 40's with wind and it was 10 am.I am in Duncannon with 40% of the front pack hiking from GA to ME. There are 8 of us in town at this very moment that started in GA and are at the Doyle Hotel. I think you can go to doylehotel.com and see the "fine" establishment that was built by Anhuizer Bush 103 yrs ago. I started as #20 in Harpers Ferry W VA and moved up to 17th. But now the three people I passed are back in town so I guess I'm back to #20. I am taking a 0 mile day today and only did 11 yesterday to get to Duncannon. My feet have some issues that need to heal up some. I need more than a couple days but I just don't have the luxury of time it takes to make that happen. I will let them heal up and spray some second skin on the wounds and see how that works. I have been wrapping my feet in duck tape and walking 18-25 miles a day. It works for the first 2/3 of the day but that last 1/3 is painful. One day I decided I needed to get the muscle relaxers out that I had left over from the shin injury (from a couple weeks ago). My feet may be the item that gets me off trail before I finish. I can't believe I just wrote that!!Liquid is ready for me to heal up so we can start running some consistent 25 mile days. I'm ready for that as well. I figure I need to do 20. something miles to finish by June 20th and I have some of the roughest parts of the trail ahead of me yet. I have to keep telling myself that I still have 1/2 the trail to go. It has been nice that PA has been relatively flat as far as the trail goes. We have walked in some pastures and relatively flat trail but the trail is littered with ROCKS!! and we supposedly haven't hit the "PA ROCKS" yet. This has allowed me to walk some pretty decent milage with sore feet. I've been doing 18-26 mile days.We talked to a triple crowner last night at the Doyle Hotel/Bar. That means he has completed all 3 big trails in the US. The AT, Appalachian Trail, the PCT, Pacific Crest Trail, and the CDT, Continental Divide Trail. If my memory serves me correctly the PCT and CDT are both over 3,000 miles but the AT is the worst of them all. A quote from the triple crowner.My spirits are up and I'm having a blast out here hanging with 5 guys (Donkey Legs, Liquid, Felton, Double Cheese, and myself. The stories I can tell are pretty funny. Some are so funny I can't even tell them with out laughing so hard.Signing Out Trailfoot.