morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2019-05-14
From: VanessaÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Place, Salisbury, CT

To: Pine Swamp Brook Shelter
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: light rain

AT Mileage Done/Mile Marker = 1486.1Left the hostel at 6am and reached the trailhead and started hiking at 7am.  The forecast was for showers beginning mid-afternoon.  But they held off until about 6pm, so I had a dry day all day. And will stay dry over night by not tenting.Of the 5 hikers in the hostel last night, I was the only one that hiked today.  Wolf is just relaxing until his flight home to Germany on Friday.  Lightfoot, Captain and Popeye decided to zero  due to the expectation of rain coupled with a difficult rocky section laying in wait for them. I too will be facing that in a few days.Sharing the shelter tonight with a young man named Liam.  He is a brand new ATC Trail Runner for the CT trail.  In his position he interacts with hikers to teach ¢Leave no trace¢ principles, report on problems with the trail/shelters, etc.Energy levels were good today after 2 days of rest.  And the hiking was not to bad leading to a good number of miles, 17.  It was cool(to my liking) and overcast all day.Today¢s picture is Lightfoot(left from Michigan) and Wolf(right from Germany) who were up before I left this morning.
Date: 2019-05-15
From: Pine Swamp Brook Shelter

To: VanesaÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs hostel, Salisbury,CT
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: broken clouds

AT Mileage Done/Mile Marker = 1501.1Something I forgot to mention yesterday.  The 17.0 mile day did not include about a 3/4 mile detour.  There was a high water road route around Guinea Creek that was swollen from recent rains that most(and certainly me) considered too dangerous to ford.Today was a wonderful day for hiking.  Cool as in the 40/50 degree range, partly sunny skies and no rain.  The trail was much more enjoyable with far fewer rocks and pretty forest land scenery.Walked on several miles of flat, smooth trail along the Housatonic River.  It is an impressive sized river, although I know it is significantly above normal levels due to lots of recent rains.  At Falls Village, CT is an huge multilevel waterfall that was amazing to witness. See today¢s picture.Also a new milestone day reaching over 1,500 miles completed on the AT.  Who would have thought it.
Date: 2019-10-17
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Fall is in the air....and I must go hiking again!  Been about 5 months since I left the AT in Connecticut.  The thought of continuing further north on the AT is still not in my plans(sorry, Jeff).  Instead I will be attempting the same hike I planned and started on last fall.  That is a several week hike through Shenandoah National Park on the AT.  Last year I got seriously dehydrated on the 2nd day and still feeling quite weak bailed out on the 4th day.Will be driving up to Front Royal, VA tomorrow and starting the hike on Saturday morning(forecasted low temp of 37 degrees).  Plan is to take 9 hours days to reach the southern end at Waynesboro, VA, take a rest day and then retrace back up to my car at Front Royal.  So a total of 19 days not counting driving days from and to home.I¢m eager to go, feel good and am ready.  Over the last month did 13 training hikes in nearby Hitchcock Woods totaling 146 miles many of which were with a fully loaded backpack of about 36 pounds.  As usual also been attending Body Combat aerobics classes, weight machines and Pickleball games.  And my weight is still much lower than previous years. Feeling good.Will probably post again tomorrow after reaching Mountain Home/Cabbin hostel.
Date: 2019-10-18
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Fall Hike Day 0Left at a little after 5am to drive to Mountain Home & Cabbin in Front Royal, VA.  Arrived here about 4pm.  Had normal delays on I-77 thru Charlotte and also quite heavy traffic on I-81 most of the day.Saw some beautiful fully colored trees in towns along the way today.  However up here almost all are still totally green.Having burger dinner at a Pub in downtown Front Royal with a hard cider. At Mountain Home are a group of 14 women from various states on a company arranged multi-day hike.  Also a couple from Oregon and two guys I haven¢t seen yet.Forecast is now calling for a low temp of 33 degrees in the morning...will need to keep moving once I start out.  At least no rain/snow tomorrow.  First day may end up being the hardest at about 14 miles with about 2000 foot elevation gain.So the fun is about to start.  Having breakfast at 6am...so will start hiking at first sunlight.
Date: 2019-10-19
From: Mountain Home Cabbin

To: Gravel Springs Shelter
Miles today: 0.0

Fall Hike Day 1Today¢s miles- 13.7A good first day.  Started out at 7:20am and arrived at this shelter at about 3:30pm.  Was bundled up well to start out in 35 degree temps. Did not take long to shed my buff and unbutton my outer shirt.  Was quite a nice day actually with mild temps, light breeze and partly cloudy.Had not been hiking for more than 10 minutes when I saw the first pair of deer.  A few minutes later saw a good sized buck....all at close range.  Then nothing but squirrels and birds thereafter.Probably have seen about 80 people today, about 12 of which are in or around the shelter tonight.  Not unusual for a lot of day hikers on week-end days here.  I¢m in the shelter since there is a high chance of rain overnight and into the morning.  Four of the people I saw were trail maintainers on a break.  Thanked them for their service and we talked for probably 20 minutes.  Another person of note was a young female Park Ranger from the Pittsburg area who graduated from Slippery Rock College.  She was impressed I knew of it.The woods are still mostly filled with green leaves.  There are small amounts of yellow/gold appearing. But nothing spectacular yet.  One puzzle is today¢s picture.  Looked down on the trail and saw this beautiful red leaf.  Looked all around and did not see any trees it came from.  Strange!For tomorrow:  A little warmer starting temperature; but, rain.  Miles will be slightly less. And the opportunity to have a warm meal at Elkwallow Wayside(a little store/cafe run by the park service).Thought on this tripI I¢ll give a glimpse into my food choices daily.  Today breakfast was at the Mountain Home Cabbin consisting of scrambled eggs with ham, fruit toast an OJ.  Lunch(in the woods)was a packet of Spam with Triscuts, some potato chips, some trail mix and an almond snickers bar. Dinner at the shelter was peanut butter on Triscuts, more potato chips and another snickers bar.  Snacks on the trail: trail mix and a Gaterade Whey bar.Note to my Pickleball friends:  if you see Janet please give her the link to this site.
Date: 2019-10-20
From: Gravel Springs Shelter

To: Pass Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Fall hike day 2Today¢s mileage 13..12 day total 26.8Woke up to wet conditions after the overnight rains that were still continuing.  Staying in the shelter, at least I started out dry.  Was probably in the low 40¢s and only got up to around 50 later.  Left the shelter at 8am and arrived at tonights just after 3pm.  It was a combination of rain, mist and moisture falling from trees all day.  Besides clothes wet from rain, even socks and undergarments were soaked from perspiration.  Don¢t y¢all want to join me in the fun?At present(4:30) I am the only one here at the shelter and I have wet clothes hanging all over in here.  Not likely they¢ll dry much by morning.  Cannot get cell service to check tomorrow¢s forecast.Not surprised by seeing less people on the trail today with the unfavorable weather.  Did pass a group of about 20 boys/leaders from a youth group and a group of 6 Japanese seniors on a short day hike.  Only saw 2 hikers from last nights group and they were making arrangements to get a ride to their car due to a knee injury.Today¢s menu:Breakfast at shelter: Cracklin Oat Brand cereal(dry) and 2 packets of Carnation instant breakfast mixed with water.Lunch at Elkwallow Wayside:Egg and sausage sandwich, large hot chocolate and a large cinnamon roll topped with lots of frosting. ( note:  when I arrived they were only serving the breakfast menu).Dinner at shelter:Packet of tuna with Triscuts.  The rest of the bag of potato chips and some trail mix.Snacks during the day:  Gatorade protein bar and a snickers bar.Another of my favorite sayings, I believe from Thoreau:  I go into the woods to lose my mind and find my soul.
Date: 2019-10-21
From: Pass Mountain Shelter

To: Rock Springs Shelter
Miles today: 0.0

Fall hike day 3Today¢s miles:  15.33  day total:  42.1Started hiking right at 7am today.  Yes, it¢s still dark so I was using my headlamp.  Only a few minutes in saw two eyes light up near the ground.  Turned out to be a rabbit.  Just about a minute later saw 4 eyes on the trail not at ground level.  They turned out to be deer.  Soon it was light and didn¢t see any more animals all day.It was a quite nice day for hiking.  Sunny and clear with slights breezes.The biggest climb was done by 8:45 although there were several others later.  Saw about 20 hikers today, 5 of which are here tonight.  And tons of people at Skyland.Sleeping in the shelter for the 3rd night which is unusual for me.  But the weather has dictated it.  Suppose to start raining overnight again and heavily into tomorrow.Hiked until about 5:30 to arrive here.  Of course I spent 2 hours at Skyland Resort & Restaurant. Had a good meal, recharged my phone and finally got caught up on posting my trail journals.  The previous 2 nights I did not have signal to be able to post.Starting to see a little more color the most significant of which is shrubbery rather than trees. An example is today¢s picture.A real surprise when I reached the shelter.  Sitting there at the picnic table was a hiker named Quill from Durham, NC.  She and I hiked together in this area back in 2016.  Later she also hiked with my 2014 hiking friend Paul Bunion from Massachusetts.  Small world.Today¢s menu:Cracking Oak Bran dry, Carnation instant breakfast on water for Breakfast.Lunch at Skyview:  Club Sandwich, Cole Slaw, Vegatarian Chili, BlackBerry Ice Cream & Blackberry Lemonaid.  And while waiting for my phone to charge a Gatorade and Chocolate Peppermint Patties.Dinner was only beef jerky and a Snickets bar.
Date: 2019-10-22
To: Bear fence Mtn Shelter
Miles today: 0.0

Fall hike day 4Today¢s miles 11.54 day total 53.6Not the best of days for hiking.  There was no signal available at the shelter but we knew there was a strong front moving through sometime today.  The one thing all seemed to agree on hearing was that it not arrive until 10am or later.Of the 4 people at the shelter, Quill and another had short walks to their vehicles- no problem for them. Another girl((Woods) decided to spend all day at the shelter-no problem for her.  But as for me I had miles to make and a schedule to keep.  So I started out at about 9:00 all rain gear in use and hoping for the best. Was fine for about two hours and then light rain started- not bad.  At about 11:30 I made it to Big Meadows Wayside.  About the last 15 minutes was driving rain, strong gusts and significantly cooler.  I had trouble seeing the big sign on Skyland Drive at it¢s entrance site.Spent 2 hours at the Wayside having lunch, charging phone, comparing trail knowledge with 2 young female hikers and deciding whether to go on or not today.  There was no signal at the Wayside to check on weather conditions.  Could have got a room at the Big Meadows Lodge and tried for a 20 plus day tomorrow or hike on.  Ultimately I decided I¢m a good enough hiker to do this.  So I packed up, put on all rain gear and took off. As the 2 girl hikers told me the trail was nice going to this shelter; however, it did pour rain for about half an hour.  Then tapered off and ultimately stopped before reaching my destination at about 4:45pm.Have been itching to get in my tent for the first time this trip.  However the available sites were lousy.  So, I am in the shelter again with a girl from Washington DC and 2 guys in hammocks near by.So here I am in the shelter with lots of wet clothes.  Have enough dry ones saved for nighttime wear.  But it will be another getting dressed tomorrow morning with wet, and now smelly hiking clothes.  Good news is that the skies have cleared and the sunshine actually appeared in the early evening hours.  So, there is hope for a nice day tomorrow - unconfirmed since there is no signal here to check.Was scant opportunities for picture taking today.  Today¢s picture is a typical water source at shelters.  A pipe buried to an underground water source and empting into a pool.  Sometimes there is a good strong, constant flow to fillip your bottle in seconds.  It has been a dry summer so the flow is much less now.  At tonights shelter there is barely a flow at all- just a pool seeping up out of the ground.Today¢s menu:Breakfast the normal Carnation Instant Breakfast w/ water and Cracking Oat Bran cereal.Lunch at the Wayside was Tomato soup, a turkey sandwich, a blackberry milkshake, bottle of Gatorade and an ice cream on a stick.Dinner at the shelter:  Peanut butter with Triscuts, Gaterade Whey Protien bar and some trail mix.Hoping for a better day tomorrow.
Date: 2019-10-23
From: Bear fence Mtn Shelter

To: Hightop Shelter
Miles today: 0.0

Fall Hike Day 5Today¢s miles:  12.45 day total:  66.0It was a gorgeous hiking day. Temperatures from 40ish at start to low 60¢s for a high.  Sunny, blue skies and light breezes.  Could not ask for better.Started out a little after 8, waiting as long as I could put off switching from my warm sleeping long johns to cold and clamy hiking garb.  I was only .75 miles from Lewis Campgrounds and had to wait for them to open at 9am.  Was worth it as 2 hours later I was clean from a luxurious hot shower and wearing clean and dry clothing.  Talk about being in heaven.Took lots of pictures today as leaves have begun turning and they were bathed in sunlight.  Unfortunately this web sight only allows 1 picture per daily entry.  The one I choose today is from a lookout on Hightop Mountain(elev 3530¢) that shows over a wide panoramic view leaves are mostly still green.Only saw 5 multi day hikers today.  And about a dozen day hikers.  It is nearly 7pm as I write this and I am alone at this shelter.Not really hiking until about 11am it took longer than I planned to get here.  Unfortunately right near the end was the biggest climb of about 1200 feet.  I personally like to get the big climbs out of the way early. But, you have to go where the trail leads.The area I¢m in now is know to be dry, especially this year.  I¢ve checked the piped spring at this shelter and there is absolutely no water coming out of the pipe.  There is a small pool still there that I can probably use a cup to dip a liter bottle full in the morning.  I am good for tonight and breakfast with what I carried in today.  For any new readers, I treat all my water found in the wild using a Steripen.  It is battery powered and uses ultraviolet light to kill any harmful organisms.Just because of the shelter locations, tomorrow is a planned short day of only about 8 miles.  Guess I can use a day of leisure.Today¢s menu:At the shelter- nothingAt Lewis Campgrounds: a turkey sub sandwich, a sizable bag of honey peanuts and two bottles of yahoo.At shelter:  spam with Triscuts, Gatorade Whey Protien Bar, trail mix.
Date: 2019-10-24
From: Hightop Shelter

To: Pine field Sheltet
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Fall Hike Day 6Today¢s miles 8.66 day total: 74.6 Another day made for hiking.  Same favorable weather as yesterday.  Again took many pictures of slightly more prevalent yellow/golden leaves.It was a planned short mileage day to reach the next shelter (would have been over 20 miles to skip over it and catch the next one).  So I did not rush getting started; nor, did I push hard to get here.  Just a nice slow pace stopping often to just take in the beauty/forest sounds or snap a picture.  From shelter to shelter was 8:30 to 1:30.  Even took a side trail to a park ranger station for water supply and my lunch break.Changing leaves although still mostly yellow are becoming more frequent.  And seeing small amounts of red and orange mixed in.  Still the prevailing color is plain old green.Saw about 8 other hikers today.  I think 3 were multi-day persons.  Two guys who I met several days ago, I saw twice today.  After seeing them the first time, they reached one of their cars,  drove further south and hiked north again to their other vehicle.Have been concerned about water availability; but, seems like it is going to work out fine.  Yesterday I filled a bottle from a boxed spring that was stagnant( had little frogs in it too) and this morning from a piped spring with no flow but a shallow standing pool below it.  If necessary I would have used either after treating it.  However I ended up dumping them out when I was able to fill all 3 of my bottles at the ranger station out of a pump.  Better safe than sorry.  Midday tomorrow I¢ll make it to Loft Mountain Wayside where I can again fill all 3 bottles.  And the two remaining shelters after that are suppose to have flowing springs(although slow flows).I had only been here about 10 minutes relaxing when a pickup truck drives up on an fire road.  It was a park ranger and his assistant/intern.  Just making a routine stop to clean the privy and check on the status of everything.  We had a nice long talk.  Later 3 more hikers showed up, all long distance, experienced ones. One from Austria(35 year old) who has hiked all over the world amassing 12,000 miles.  Another completed the entire AT earlier this year.Today¢s menu:Breakfast at shelter:  no Carnation instant breakfast being concerned about water. Did have a Gatorade Whey Protien bar and dry Cracklin Oat Bran.Lunch at the Ranger station was peanut butter/Triscuts, and trail mix.Dinner at shelter:
Date: 2019-10-25
From: Pine field Sheltet

To: Blackrock Shelter
Miles today: 0.0

Fall Hike Day 7Today¢s miles:  13.27 day total 87.8Another nice day for hiking-cool, slight breeze and partially overcast.  Got started at 8am and by 10:30 was at Loft Mountain Wayside having breakfast.  About an hour later was at Loft Mountain campstore doing a small resupply and another snack.  Probably saw about 10 serious hikers today.  Three of them were thru-hikers having started in Maine on their way to Georgia.  Saw about 20 others day hikers today.Today¢s miles were respectable; but, seemed relatively easy.  Even with the stops and multiple discussions with other hikers and tourists I made it here by 5pm.  Only two people here and they are friends who are primarily care doctors, both about my age.  We¢ve had quite interesting discussions over a wide range of issues.Today¢s menu:Breakfast: Carnation Instant Breakfast and Cracklin Oat Bran.Loft Mtn Wayside brunch: 2 egg sandwiches with cheese( one with bacon, one with sausage) and hot chocolate.Dinner:  peanut butter and crackers, Mars bar.Snacks:  ice cream cone, chunky bars and trail mix.
Date: 2019-10-26
From: Blackrock Shelter

To: Calf Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Fall Hike Day 8Today¢s miles: 13.08 day total = 100.8Last big day of my southbound hike.  Only 7.7 miles into Waynesboro and a hostel tomorrow.  Today was overcast all day with just a few minutes of drizzle.  Temps ranged from mid 40¢s to lower 60¢s.  Actually a good day for hiking and I felt pumped.  Like an energizer bunny.There are 6 of us at the shelter tonight.  The same 2 doctors as last night and others.  Probably saw about 20 others.You know I¢ve been concerned about water sources on the later part of this hike.  Today was the closest call.  Had plenty of water for this day; but little left for tomorrow.  When I got to this shelters piped spring I had 2 bottles to fill. The pipe was literally just dripping with an occasional little spurt.  It took 16 minutes to fill my 2 bottles.  Had to sit on the ground and hold the bottles under the drips and move them quickly to catch the occasional spurt that would have overshot to bottle opening.Need to tell you how smart I am and the new plan I¢ve come up with.  Just wait a minute!!!  If I was really that smart I would have come up with it to start with.  Anyway, instead of taking 9 more days to hike back to my car in Front Royal over the same path I just did (and also covered in 2016), I¢ll get a ride back up there.  And then use the extra days to drive down Skyland Drive within the park and do day hikes to scenic attractions that are not on the AT.  And can spend nights in various campgrounds.  And probably get home a few days sooner.  BRILLIANT.Suppose to start raining about 9pm and into tomorrow afternoon.  So my last hiking day will be a wet one.  Oh well, there is a hostel waiting for me to once again get clean and dry.  And daughter Tracey and family are meeting me for dinner in Waynesboro.
Date: 2019-10-27
To: Stanimals 328 Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

Fall Hike Day 9Today¢s miles: 7.79 day total:  108.5Forecasted overnight rain was suppose to start around 9pm.  Got up to pee at mid-night and it had not started.  Generated hope that it would all miss us.  Oh but it did not!  Lots of rain overnight.  Pre-hike radar check looked like a strong band of showers coming that would not last long and then clearing.  That is exactly how it played out.  Unfortunately I was hiking when the strong band hit and it was intense for awhile.  So, I got soaked including shoes and socks from sloshing through the small rivers that are usually trail.This section of trail was quite a bit rockier than SNP had been.  Had to be careful on wet, slippery rocks.  Made it through just fine and exited the woods into the edges of Waynesboro about 11:15am into sunny skies. Had a hot dog and fries at a roadside stand while waiting for shuttle driver from the hostel.So my southbound part of this hike is over.  Feel like I did quite well.  Averaged 12.5 miles per day.  That is better than any of my other hikes.  Except for 3 (out of 9) days being rainy it was an enjoyable experience.  Paths are sweet for the most part, met many nice people as I usually do and got to spend lots of time on my own out in splendid nature.  Tonight my daughter Tracey, husband Jason and grandkids Jack and Kate are driving over to take me out to dinner.  They live about 40 minutes away from here.Also want to thank those who left messages on my journal: Tracey, Kokopelli, cousin Mary, George from Pickleball and RockDawg. Always good out in the woods to hear from family and friends.Plans are still being made.  I do expect to get back to my car in Front Royal tomorrow staying at the hostel that is holding it tomorrow night.  Then begin a few days drive down Skyline Drive in SNP taking day hikes to interesting places.  So stay tuned for future posts.,Today¢s picture is me in loaner clothes while doing laundry.