morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-05-09
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

GoJoe and I are taking a day off today, Wed., May 9. We hitch hiked into Elizabethton, TN Tues afternoon and are staying at Americourt motel. Let me tell you, it is not a very good place to stay but when one is hiking the AT, it suffices.The hike the past 3 days was good with the weather being excellent. Lots of sunshine with no rain except for a Saturday  night storm with a little light rain Sunday morning for just a few minutes. Saturday night I stayed at Station 19E hostel so that worked out well. I am now just approximately 41 miles from Damascus, VA. I should be reaching on Saturday. However, at this point I have hiked 428 miles which is 19.5% of the AT. Ten more miles and I will have hiked 20% of the AT.I will add photos as soon as I post this entry. Now on to the flopping hikers.First, I will define a few hiking terms. Flip-flopping is when a hiker hiked one direction, then goes up ahead and hikes the other direction. A normal example would be hiking S to N from Springer Mtn to Harpers Ferry. Harpers Ferry is considered the half way point of the AT. So, hiking S to N from SM to HF then going to Mt Katahdin (northern end of the AT) and then hiking back to HF to end one¢s AT thru-hike.Slack packing is being dropped off at one point and picked up at another point while taking minimal gear. Usually done for a day at a time.Now there is nothing wrong with either of these by themselves. The issue is when S to N thru-hikers slackpack sections going N to S. They cherry pick the sections so they are going mostly downhill to avoid going up the mountains. There are many doing this. My question, and it is only a question, by doing so does it introduce impurities that infiltrate the Spirit  of what thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail is truly about? Thus, what I call ¢Flopping Slackers¢. Any opinions??
Date: 2018-05-13
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

First, Happy Mother¢s Day! To my Mother!! Also, to all Mothers! Happy Mother¢s Day Mom!!Hiked 41 miles since my last post, from Hampton, TN to Damascus, VA. The weather has still been great. Rained a couple times but just a couple of minutes, but not enough to even get wet. I have now completed Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee. Three states down with eleven to go. Another way to look at it is 470.1 miles completed or over 21% done.I am feeling good physically and enjoying my hike. Trail Days in Damascus is coming up starting Friday, May 18-20. My sista Karen and brother-in-law John will be picking me up somewhere north of Damascus and we will becoming to Damascus to trail days. I am liking forward to our visit and attending Trail Days.One side note. We-GoJoe and I- stayed in Elizabethton this past Tues/Wed. We had hitched a ride from about 14 miles from the trail and was wondering how long it would take us to get a ride back to where we needed to get back on the trail. Thursday morning, we stepped out to the road, I held my thumb out and the first vehicle pulled over and gave us a ride! It was the owner of the Boots Off Hostel that was just .1 mile from where we were headed. This is the second ride we have gotten from the owners of a hostel.Getting ready to get back on the trail after spending the night in Damascus at ¢The Place¢. It is owned by the Methodist Church which converted a house into a hostel.Pics forthcoming
Date: 2018-05-21
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

it has been a week since my last post, my apologies.Hiked 63 miles north of Damascus to Mt Rogers Visitor Center where I was picked up by my sista n brother-in-law, John n Karen V. From there we stayed in a hotel in Abington. Abington is a great small town but much bigger than Damascus. A great place to visit! John n Karen put me up in my own room over the weekend n fed me very well! Thank you both for coming to see me n all you did! Thank You for All your Support!!We had a great time at Trail Days in Damascus on Fri n Sat. Lots of vendors, people, music, food, etc. the weather was very good although it rain a little. I had a very good time which also gave me a reprieve from the trail.Also, my sista n brother-in-law from Cincinnati came to Damascus Fri evening. We all ate st the Old Mill and visited for a while. Very nice for Denise n Craig to visit n support my hike! They also bought me a very nice hiking shirt (which I will use the second half of my journey) n a dehydrated meal to use while hiking. Thank you Denise n Craig for the items and All your Support!!Yesterday, John n Karen dropped me back off on the trail n hiked with me 1.1 miles one way. I ended up hiking 14.2 miles yesterday which put me almost exactly at 25% completion of the Appalachian Trail.At this point, I have hiked 547.9 miles.I will be posting pics hopefully later today.
Date: 2018-05-26
To: My.Katahdin
Miles today: 70.0

I have hiked 70 miles since last post, of which includes Tuesday-Saturday. I hiked 4.8 miles into Pearisburg, VA today and will be back on the trail about 11 am tomorrow. All is going well except for Tuesday which has physically been my worst hiking day to date. I knew shortly into my hike that I was struggling. I believe I had not eaten enough calories or/and protein. I did manage to hike 14.5 miles and bounced back Wednesday and the following days. Of course, I am giving more attention to what and how much I eat throughout the day. Fortunately there were two grocery outlets that cooked food, which did help me recover. On Wednesday I had a cheeseburger w/Cajun fries and a few yoo-hoo chocolate drinks at Brushy Mtn grocery. This place was right off the trail. On Thursday, I had 2 BLT w/egg at Trent¢s Grocery.  The food was great at both places. After eating at Brushy Mtn. on Wednesday, a fellow hiker (Blue Moon) and I hitch-hiked into Bland, VA and resupplied at Dollar General. While eating at Trent¢s Grocery on Thursday, an 86 year young man and I talked for most of the time I was there. He said that his son-in-law owns the place and he was just hanging out there for awhile. This is the first year he is not going to put out a garden. I can tell you he looked a lot younger and was lean and healthy looking, though he has had a couple health issues recently. After I ate and we talked (1 1/2hr), he gave me a ride back to the trail. Very nice man!A couple more things to mention. First, on my Friday hike, I hiked through many tunnels of Rhododendrons. It seemed that there were miles of them. I wish I knew. Second is about the birds. They start their chirping/singing at 5:30 in the morning. Let me tell you, they seem that they love to do it and proud of it. Now at 5:30, I do not see any daylight, but I would never doubt the birds. I have noticed that at lower elevations, there are more birds; thus, more joyful noise. On one particular morning, we (5 of us) were tenting in the middle of their gathering. There were so many birds and it was so loud, yet a great kind of loudness. So many varying souds but it all was perfectly orchestrated. It was if they were singing their Praises to God Himself. I believe they were. In the mist of all this, there was a woodpecker about 10 feet from my tent joining in. He started his business at 5:30 for a few seconds and then every 5 minutes after that he would repeat himself. He wad like an alarm clock with a snooze button and somehow, it all blended in with all the other sounds!Enough for now. I have posted pics with some being from Damascus Trail Days from a week ago.Thanks for following!!
Date: 2018-06-01
From: Springer Mountain 

To: Mount Katahdin 
Miles today: 68.1
Weather: broken clouds

So I decided to take a full day off the trail in Pearisburg on Sunday and resumed my hike at 11 am on Monday, Memorial Day. After 30 minutes into my hike, I came upon trail magic. They were serving drinks, hotdogs, chips, etc. I was not hungry for I had eaten breakfast a couple hours earlier, but I did indulge in a coke and a bag of cool ranch Doritos. I wish I would have ran into this about 7 or 8 miles up the trail. Nevertheless, it is always good to see trail magic!I hiked 14.2 m on Monday, with it raining for a couple hours. Tuesday I had my longest hiking day to date going 18.9m. The next 2 days I encountered 4 serious climbs. 2 on Wednesday and 2 on Thursday. These were very steep and long climbs. Now though I handle these kind of climbs better, they are still hard. With that, it has been very humid and within 2 hours of my hike, I am drenched in sweat. Sometimes I want it to rain so I would be saturated with rain water. I think it would feel better. Now it has rain a few times but mostly not where I was hiking. It is more isolated showers. Wednesday I ended at 15.1m and Thursday at 16.2 m. Today, June 1, I hiked 3.7 m. I have some pictures to share that I think are really nice. However, it is taking so long to down load them I will wait to do that Sunday or Monday. I will let all know when this has been done.So Today, I hiked into 4 Pines Hostel which is owned and ran by Joe and his wife. They are very hiker friendly and drove us to resupply and to eat. I will be spending the night here tonight. Also, I did get to take s shower and wash my clothes.On my hike today, I visited The Dragon¢s Tooth. The pics will speak for themselves but it is very nice. Also many more pics coming soon. My apologies!As always, thanks for following and for signing the guest book when you view my Appalachian Trail blog!!
Date: 2018-06-04
From: Springer Mountain

To: Mount Katahdin 
Miles today: 25.7
Weather: clear sky

all is going well. Hiked 16.3 & 9.4 the last two days and I am taking today as a zero day. Experienced trail magic just a few yards within finishing up yesterday. There were some Buffalo Wild Wings wings and flavored water left for hikers. Very nice when that happens!Got some rain Friday but not that much or long. I slept in Lambert Shelter that night though I usually prefer to tent. A lot of hikers at the site with tent site just a few yards down the hill. Also, about 10-12 Boy Scouts stayed also.The highlight of the past few days were Mcafee Knob and Tinker Cliffs. As Jeff mentioned in a message, Mcafee Knob is the most photographed site in the Appalachian Trail. But I think this has to do with its accessibility compared to other sites. It is a 3.7 mile hike from a big parking lot, which allows people from all over to visit it. I would guess that I saw 50 ¢non-hikers¢ going to, comping down or on the knob. But make no mistake, it is a beautiful place.Tinker Cliffs is about 5 miles north of Mcafee Knob. It has boulders that protrude out but maybe not as far. They also do not have the area that Mcafee has. There are also around 15-18 areas at Tinker Cliffs to view from along a stretch of maybe one mile.One other mention, there was another trail magic at the parking lot leading up to Mcafee Knob. A local man had water for hikers which came in handy because there were many miles between water sources. Great place to do Trail Magic with water!!I have included many pics, enjoy
Date: 2018-06-08
From: Springer Mountain

To: Mount Katahdin 
Miles today: 46.9
Weather: few clouds

I have hiked 46.9m Tues-Thurs. Tues was 14, Wed 18 and Thurs 14.9. The weather has been great and could not be better. Sunny but not hot and with low humidity. Thursday¢s Hike was particularly tough with all the ups. I stayed at Bryant Shelter which I consider has been the best yet. Very well built with two decks and lots of space. I am feeling good but am tired at the end of the day. This is good because I do sure sleep well. Also, Thursday there was Trail Magic in which one of the thru-hikers¢ wife provided. It included cheese, sausage, crackers, beer, etc. It was very good as is all the Trail Magic food and drink has been. I have included a picture of this. I am sitting in Scott¢s restaurant in Glasgow eating while I am writing this blog. I came off the trail into town to eat and re-supply. I will be going back on the trail to hike a couple more hours today. In the parking lot before I came into town, I helped a guy from Blacksburg set up his Trail Magic. He section hikes and his trail name is Senator. Very nice guy and I will be partaking of the Trail Magic in a few hours. He is doing hot dogs, etc. I did drink a coke before coming into town.All for now. Thanks for following! Please sign guest book!
Date: 2018-06-21
From: Springer Mountain 

To: Mount Katahdin 
Miles today: 69.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Thank you for visiting my Appalachian Trail thru-hike blog. Please sign the guest book each time you visit.Have a Happy and Great First Day of Summer! Saturday was a beautiful hiking day, with abundant sunshine and low humidity. Got started about 11 and hiked 12.2 miles. Sunday had a little light rain in the morning but not enough to get wet. I took a lunch break at a picnic area then headed back down the trail. I stopped a few yards in and took my backpack off to see if I had left something behind. I had everything do as I was putting my backpack on, a day hiker passed by. I continued my hike with him 50¢ in front and then he started slowly backing up. At this point, I knew why. Now I have never seen a bear this entire thru-hike or the hikes I took before my thru-hike over the years. But today was different. Within the first 2 or 3 minutes, about 25 yards in front of us this massive bear crossed the trail. This has to be the largest bear on the trail (see photos). After he crossed the trail about 5 yards, there was no way I was going by him being that close to the trail. Then an adolescent bear joined him. Eventually, the bear moved on after the adolescent bear saw me and ran off down the mountain. Monday morning about 7:30 as I was hiking, in tall weeds just off the trail I startled a smaller ( maybe the mother, not sure) bear and a cub that ran partly up a tree a few yards from the trail (see photos). In photos you can see the cub on the back side of tree, especially if you expand the picture. Do this also with the pictures pertaining to the previous bear encounter mentioned. So four bears in two days, not bad. Monday was very sunny but very humid. Got a ride into Elkton, VA and ate at McDonald¢s. Then got another ride to Country View Motel and stayed there for the night. Took a much needed shower and washed my clothes. Tuesday, got re-connected with Nick, Two Step and Molasses. Only hiked 8.3 miles into Lewis Mountain Campground and stayed in a four-bunk small cabin. A good rain started at 5 and lasted about an hour which then turned into a beautiful evening. Wed I hiked 15.8miles. We stopped at Big Meadows and ate lunch and re-supplied. Was there over 3 hours and then started hiking again after the thunderstorm passed. Hiked another 8 miles through two thunderstorms. Tented about one mile south of Skyland Resort and Restaurant. I am in Shannandoah National Park which has a lot of places to eat and re-supply. It is about 105 miles of the AT. It sure helps on a lighter pack because of not needing to carry as much food. There is always a place to eat almost everyday. Thank you for following my Appalachian Trail thru-hike on my blog and thank you for signing the guest book upon each visit!
Date: 2018-07-11
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

It has been over 2 weeks since my last blog - closer to 3 - so please accept my apologies. Since then, I have hiked 190.1 miles. I have finished Virginia, which has the longest AT miles at approximately 555. I have also hiked through West Virginia - 4 miles-, Maryland - 41 miles -, and I am now in Boiling Springs Pennsylvania, having hiked 57 miles thus far in this state. My brother Jeff and sister Karen came to Winchester, VA to visit. Jeff hiked with me for 2 days as Karen provided logistics. We also stayed in Harper¢s Ferry West VA. Thank you both for your support! We had a lot of fun and it was great to see both of them.Also, my Mother, Sister Denise and Aunt Rowena brought me back to the trail today from Tennessee. Thank you all three! We stayed in Gettysburg the last 2 nights while visiting the Civil War battlefields in Gettysburg yesterday. Unimaginable what happened there with all the bloodshed and suffering. If you haven¢t been there, I highly recommend visiting.I took the last 7 days off to attend my Family Reunion in Tennessee on Friday and Saturday, July 6-7, and to take a break. The Reunion was great as was the break. I am getting ready to get back on the trail today, Wednesday, July 11.Up to Boiling Springs, my hike has been going very well. I am looking forward to ¢finding my groove¢ once I get re-started and hope it doesn¢t take long. However, I will ease back into it. I have added many pictures. One is of my Nephew with his back to the camera overlooking a bluff in Tennessee. Another is of his younger brother who decided to put my backpack on that I had set outside. Plus, there are many more pictures.That is all for now. Thank you for following my Appalachian Trail Hike! Please sign the guest book upon your visit to my blog.
Date: 2018-07-11
From: Springer Mountain 

To: Mount Katahdin 
Miles today: 190.1

It has been over 2 weeks since my last blog - closer to 3 - so please accept my apologies. Since then, I have hiked 190.1 miles. I have finished Virginia, which has the longest AT miles at approximately 555. I have also hiked through West Virginia - 4 miles-, Maryland - 41 miles -, and I am now in Boiling Springs Pennsylvania, having hiked 57 miles thus far in this state. My brother Jeff and sister Karen came to Winchester, VA to visit. Jeff hiked with me for 2 days as Karen provided logistics. We also stayed in Harper¢s Ferry West VA. Thank you both for your support! We had a lot of fun and it was great to see both of them.Also, my Mother, Sister Denise and Aunt Rowena brought me back to the trail today from Tennessee. Thank you all three! We stayed in Gettysburg the last 2 nights while visiting the Civil War battlefields in Gettysburg yesterday. Unimaginable what happened there with all the bloodshed and suffering. If you haven¢t been there, I highly recommend visiting.I took the last 7 days off to attend my Family Reunion in Tennessee on Friday and Saturday, July 6-7, and to take a break. The Reunion was great as was the break. I am getting ready to get back on the trail today, Wednesday, July 11.Up to Boiling Springs, my hike has been going very well. I am looking forward to ¢finding my groove¢ once I get re-started and hope it doesn¢t take long. However, I will ease back into it. I have added many pictures. One is of my Nephew with his back to the camera overlooking a bluff in Tennessee. Another is of his younger brother who decided to put my backpack on that I had set outside. Plus, there are many more pictures.That is all for now. Thank you for following my Appalachian Trail Hike! Please sign the guest book upon your visit to my blog.
Date: 2018-07-22
From: Springer Mountain 

To: Mount Katahdin 
Miles today: 148.4

all is going well. Hiked almost 150 miles since last post. I can confirm that Pennsylvania does have tons of rocks, stones and boulders! Most hikers do not have very nice things to say about the state because of this. Some cursing it to damnation. I will be out of PA and in New Jersey tomorrow. After Jersey comes New York.Much Thanks to everyone following and the kind words and comments. It is very much appreciated and does actually give me a morale Boost!Please sign guest book. Pictures have been added.
Date: 2018-08-05
From: Springer Mountain Georgia 

To: Mount Katahdin 
Miles today: 154.0
Weather: few clouds

I have hiked 154 miles since last post. Finished Pennsylvania, then New Jersey and am now in New York with about 32 miles before Connecticut. I am glad I made it through Pennsylvania when I did because of all the rain they have recently gotten. In fact, I met 3 women that said they were hiking in knee high water so they decided to skip ahead north to NY and hike south to Pennsylvania where they got off the trail. I saw where the town of Pine Grove got flooded. A town that hitch hiked into about 2 weeks ago to have lunch. You will see pics and the one with me beside a U.S. Flag is atop a mountain just inside the NY border. I have seen several U.S. flags in NY, some in NJ, and many many in Pennsylvania.  There are a lot of very small towns close to the AT trail. Towns I enjoy stopping in to get recharged through food, but especially to talk with townspeople to learn more if the towns. This is one of the most enjoyable parts of my hike. There is still Trail Magic happening. Some examples are that one guy picked me up and took me into town and asked me where I was staying. I told him I was going back to the trail after I ate and re-supplied. So he gave me his phone # and I called him after I was ready to go back to the trail and he picked me up and took me. Wow! Another was when I was sitting at a picnic table at Bellvale Creamery and a young man, about 20, asked me -while he was standing in line- if I was thru hiking and things about it. Then he asked me if I wanted an ice cream and of course I said sure. He brought me a large ice cream on a waffle cone w/four different ice creams on it. It was sooooo good! Another Trail Magic moment was when I was hitch hiking in NY and this van that was going the other direction pulled off to the side of the road. After sitting there 5 minutes, he turned around and picked me up. He said-he is s Jewish man- he was going the wrong way and was looking at his map to see which way he should go. Then he said that maybe God had sent him the ¢wrong way¢ do he could give me a ride. Wow! There are a lot of Jewish people in NY.Steve and Carrie Peacock picked me up just outside of Peekskill, NY on Wednesday evening, Aug 1. We spent 2 nights in Peekskill. On Thursday we went to West Point, which was just a few miles away. You will see some pics from West Point. Then, we got on a train for an hour ride into New York City. The train took us to Grand Central Station. We spent several hours in NY City. What a city! While there we visited Trump Tower. Just outside the front doors were 2 guards with machine guns. Once inside, they scanned any and all bags, but not the peoples. It was very elaborate inside. You will see pics. I had a great time w/ Steve and Carrie and it was so good to see them, to spend time w/them and for all their support!Thank all of for following my Appalachian Trail Thru-Hike! Please sign the Guest Book!
Date: 2018-08-09
To: View Entry
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: broken clouds

I am sending this to let all that are following know, after 1400+ miles of hiking, I have incurred an injury. It is nothing serious but enough of one, that I believe forces me off the trail at this time. The injury is either a shin splint or a stress fracture. More likely then not, it is probably a shin splint. This is nothing unusual as one hikes and piles up the miles. Especially an older individual, although it happens to much younger individuals as well. I incurred this on Sunday afternoon on July 29th. Nothing in particular happened other then my lower right leg started bothering me. This past week I only hiked 28 miles while attempting to give my leg rest. I have been hiking between 90-99 miles per week. However, my leg has gotten a little bit worst. I can tell you that it is not really bad, but bad enough to hinder my hiking to the point that I am not able to hike the usual daily miles. My plan at this point is to go home, rest, treat and do stretching exercises to get myself back to being able to hiking. I will take 2 weeks off and then test my leg by hiking a couple days before I go back to the trail, which I am hoping to do! We will see.Thank all of you for following and I look forward to sharing more blogs and pics along my Appalachian Trail Thru-Hike!!