morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-06-29
From: Bearfence Mountain Hut

To: Big Meadows Campground
Miles today: 8.4
Weather: scattered clouds

In the morning my good friend from college, Beth, was going to drive from DC to bring me brunch! But we hadn't made any specific plans yet about WHERE we would meet up. I was going to text her with a location, but in the morning I realized my phone's battery was dead, so I had to go back to Lewis Mountain to charge it up. I said goodbye to Jaybird as I figured I might not see him again--he was leaving the trail on Monday--and hiked on the road back to Lewis Mountain. I decided to just wait for Beth there. While I was there I saw a huge, beautiful green Luna moth on the outside wall of the store! I had really wanted to see one since I had heard that they could be found in the Appalachian Mountains, but this kind of moth only lives about three days, so I felt pretty lucky. I was reading a book when I heard, "Those are some sexy compression leggings!" and looked up and saw Beth. When I jumped up to give her a hug, she said, "And you're hiking in a skirt!" Her comment reminded us both of a time we went hiking, in skirts, in Tanzania together 10 years ago. I hadn't seen here since we graduated in 2004. She brought a wonderful picnic lunch of grapes, watermelon, peaches, carrots, scones, cookies, crackers, hummus and brie. And although it was a short time together, it was SO GOOD to catch up. Thank you for visiting me, Beth!!Chopper and SIS showed up while we were visiting. After I said goodbye to Beth, the three of us hiked to Big Meadows wayside for dinner. They came up with a plan to stay in the campground and then go out for breakfast in the morning. The campground was full but one of the campground hosts let us camp near their RV.
Date: 2013-06-30
From: Big Meadows Campground

To: Byrds Nest #3 Hut
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Chopper, SIS, and I woke up to the sound of a child crying. Not exactly what we were used to! We were up so early that we actually were waiting outside the restaurant at the lodge before it opened at 7:30. Probably a first for me! We had a great buffet breakfast and then got on the trail a bit later than normal.I had an appointment to call my spiritual director at 6pm so when I got to the Byrd's nest shelter at 5:15 I stopped there, even though I had originally planned to hike to the next one 4 miles further north. After setting up my tent, I tried calling her but the signal was bad, so I hiked a mile back up the mountain to the south to a nice overlook with a vista where I knew I could get a good signal. It was the first time we talked since I left home nearly three months ago so it was good to talk to her and do some processing. Some of what I took away from that conversation (in case you're interested) was:-I realized I need to buy a tent, so that I can get more solitude. I'm not sleeping in my tarp much because I'm afraid of getting wet.-I need to spend one morning each week in reflection--NOT in towns or at shelters but on the trail. It's hard for me to really think clearly while I hike. Something about being still and undistracted helps.-I need to watch out for how my Ego may be affecting my journey by having me dwell on miles, speed, and keeping up with people or in any way not being true to what God has called me to do on this journey. -I need to be careful not to worry about what other people are doing.-Recognize how the questions I'm asking on this journey have changed as a sign of how I have changed (I don't feel like I've changed much) since I've been out.When I got back to the shelter, SIS told me that Chopper got a text from Stitch that she decided to go home after her husband came to visit! That was a shock as she seemed so dedicated. It made me realize how strong the pull of home is. Although I don't have a home right now, I do have family, including a niece who was due June 28. Even though it will be hard, I've decided not to go home to see her after she's born, because I don't want to be tempted to not return to the trail.
Date: 2013-07-01
From: Byrds Nest #3 Hut

To: Gravel Springs Hut
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: moderate rain

It's hard to believe it's July 1. The time has gone by so fast!I did some journaling in the morning and then took off into the clouds (literally) and hiked in the rain to try to catch up to SIS and Chopper. The three of us stopped at Elkwallow Wayside for lunch. Having access to hot food is so nice, who can resist?! Then we took a long time deciding whether to go into Front Royal to resupply and stay the night or not. We couldn't agree on a plan that would please everyone, and really, we didn't all need to do the same thing. The only reason we seemed to want to stick together is because I invited them to join me at my trail friend, Raindancer's, house in DC later on in the week. In the end, SIS and I decided to keep hiking and to hitch into Front Royal the next day. Much more simple (and cheaper) than what Chopper wanted to do which was spend the night in town. I'm almost out of Shenandoah and still have yet to see a bear here. Everyone said I would but they seem to be wrong. I don't expect to see one tomorrow. When I went to sign the trail log at the shelter, I decided to write a letter to the bears, something like this:Dear Bears,I have been all but guaranteed to see one of you but so far I haven't seen any of you! What's the deal? Did y'all go on vacation to the Smokies or something? If I don't see one of you, I'm going to start thinking that Shenandoah is a 10 letter word meaning, "place where bears are just a rumor." Here I am, what, 10 miles from leaving the park, so please show up tomorrow and make this park proud!Yours Truly,Poppins
Date: 2013-07-02
From: Gravel Springs Hut

To: Jim and Molly Denton Shelter
Miles today: 18.6

SIS, Special K and her dad Hollister left camp before me and I stayed back to write postcards. SIS and I were going to meet at the road crossing 13.4 miles up the trail to go into Front Royal.The weather was cloudy--literally I was walking in a cloud--as I hiked in the morning but it wasn't so hot which was all I cared about. The terrain was wonderfully fast, nice gradual ups and downs--perfect for quick miles. Still I must have not been fast enough because SIS was waiting at the road 20 minutes when I showed up.But anyway, today was my hike out of Shenandoah. I was cynical and sad because I hadn't seen a bear in the park and doubted I would in the last 10 miles. I did see a 3 or 4 foot long rattlesnake...and didn't scream! When I caught up with Special K, she told me she saw two bear cubs, just 2 miles earlier. I gave her a friendly glare. She said she knew I'd be upset. Then I went on hiking, grumbling to God, "Why is it that everyone else is seeing the bears except for me?" But before I could even finish my question, I was startled to see not one, but three bears, a mama and two cubs, just 20 yards away! So I guess my letter worked! Then later after leaving the park I saw two more cubs! SIS and I had an easy hitch into Front Royal. In fact, a car pulled over before SIS could cross the road and before I could even stick my thumb out. While we ate pizza, I got a text from Jaybird who was in NYC. He wrote: "I"m in NYC. Overwhelming, jarring. Sneezing a lot. Synthetic. Hypertension. Air of plastic." It kept going like this...SIS and I were dying of laughter. Jaybird always cracks me up. He might be screaming and having a fit about the insects that are swarming his head while he's hiking, but all I can do is suppress my laughter about how ridiculous he looks. Just one of the many endearing things about Jaybird. Also, he gave me, Piper, and others naming rights to a new trail name so I'm trying to think of some. Nothing great comes to mind. Maybe I just like Jaybird?! We resupplied, shared a pint of Ben and Jerry's, and then SIS did laundry while I sat in a filthy McDonalds. (Why do laundry when it's raining on the trail!?) I wanted to sit in a coffeeshop but that was the best Front Royal--land of stripmalls--could offer. (And now I remember why I almost never go to McDonalds!) We got offered a ride back to the trail by a guy in a pickup truck. Easiest hitch ever. Then we hiked up to the Denton shelter, running into Chopper on the way, and we all slept in the shelter because of the rain. It's a nice shelter with a porch and a shower but the shower didn't work. I had so much food at this point that it didn't all fit in my food bag. So when I went to hang my bear bag, I had to use my sleeping bag stuff sack also. Wow. I guess I still have yet to buy just the right amount of food!
Date: 2013-07-03
From: Jim and Molly Denton Shelter

To: Rod Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 18.4
Weather: light rain

We woke up to more rain. I joked about taking a zero--"why not? I have enough food!!" But it actually stopped raining mid-morning. Still, it was really muddy all day. I hate hiking in the mud. Nothing good about it. (Oh wait, I remember someone once being glad for mud because it's softer. Okay, my bad.) It's messy, slippery, slow and gets all over everything. Kinda a blah day for me emotionally. Just another day on trail. Kept thinking of names for Jaybird. Fishigan? Because he was always talking about fish and Michigan? Made instant cheesecake for dessert which we topped with black raspberries that SIS picked. Yummy. Sent a text to Raindancer about staying with her on Thursday (July 4) but haven't heard back...
Date: 2013-07-04
From: Rod Hollow Shelter

To: Bears Den Hostel
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: light rain

Happy 4th of July! When I woke up, I thought it was raining at first but then I realized it was just the sound of a creek. Whew! I don't think I could've handled any more rain, as the trail was already so muddy. It was a glorious morning to do the Roller Coaster, 13.5 miles of tightly packed ascents and descents, something that I was dreading but knew would not be as bad as I was told since nothing seems to be as bad as people say it is, I've come to find out on the trail. Sometimes I would rather not know what's up ahead. I think ignorance really is bliss, most of the time. But even if I wanted to be blissfully ignorant about the Roller Coaster, it wouldn't have mattered, as there was a warning sign--no kidding!--at the beginning, which I assumed to be a joke from the trail maintainers. After a couple of miles, I was dripping with sweat. I took a break to check my phone to see if Raindancer had replied to my text about staying with her tonight and was excited to see that it would be fine! That meant we would only have to go 10 miles to the Bears Den Hostel, thereby splitting the "Roller Coaster" into two days. Nice. Joan is a friend I met the first two weeks on the trail. She lives 15 minutes from DC.Joan met SIS, Chopper and me at the hostel, a stone castle-like structure, and gave us Gatorade and a big hug. It was sooo good to see her again. On the way home, we made a quick stop at REI where I returned my bugnet, which had started to come apart at the seams after only 3 uses. (I've decided to buy a tarp/tent instead. I just have to order it.) It's always nice to stay with other hikers as they just really know what we need. Joan is no exception. She hooked us up with everything we needed. She even let me get a "performance stretching" session from her neighbor who has helped her with her knee and ankle pain. We had an amazing supper of ham, corn on the cob, and various salads, and then after a quick trip to the grocery store, we had ice cream sundaes. And we watched a bit of the fireworks on TV--going into the city to watch the fireworks would not have been possible as you have to get there at noon. A great day.
Date: 2013-07-05
From: Bears Den Hostel

To: Blackburn AT Center
Miles today: 7.9
Weather: light rain

This morning Raindancer made us breakfast...pancakes and bacon and fruit. I had to do a couple of things online afterwards and then we drove to Harper's Ferry to pick up mail drops...Many thanks to Annsley for the treats and to the Popletts for the food and camera! (they are letting me us an old camera!) Then she drove us to the Bears Den. A HUGE thanks to Raindancer for her amazing generosity and hospitality! It was so good to see you again! You are what makes this trail so meaningful and memorable!As I hiked the last half of the Roller Coaster, I met a lady I'd heard about named Punkin who is married to a thru-hiker named Hamster. Punkin has basically been slackpacking Hamster up the trail (he doesn't like camping) and doing trail magic along the way. Real sweet lady. She had TRAIL MAGIC for us! Then at the 1,000 mile marker, which was a wooden stick with "1,000" written in lime-green on it, Chopper and I took photos. It was a special moment. I actually almost cried. It's just so hard to believe I have come this far...Time has gone by so fast. Seems like I just was at 500 miles a couple of weeks ago!I had a note in my trail guide that the Blackburn AT Center is a "great place to stay" (notes from Maw), but it came as a complete surprise. I stopped in to the main building, which is separate from the bunkhouse, to see if anyone was around and found two of the caretakers, Caroline and Trail Boss, there. Caroline offered me a can of pop and then said she'd be fixing dinner soon! I wasn't sure what to expect, but definitely not dinner! She served us hamburgers, corn on the cob, chips and salsa and homemade blueberry pie! They just get donations from hikers and use the money to buy food for the next hikers to come through! After a (tepid) solar shower outdoors, I went to bed. We could hear nuts falling on the metal roof of the bunkhouse, but apparently I was tired enough that it didn't keep me awake...
Date: 2013-07-06
From: Blackburn AT Center

To: Ed Garvey Shelter
Miles today: 18.8
Weather: moderate rain

It's hard to believe I'm already up here in West Virginia. Time on the trail really seems to have flown by. I know I need to maintain a certain pace but I really don't want the miles to be my focus. I want to milk this time so I get out of it what I need. I just am not sure how to do that. I find that I'm tempted by thoughts of what I'll do after this hike. More of an anxiety than something I want to think about. It keeps popping up. What I've come to realize, and what helps me deal with my anxiety about finding a job, is to recognize how God has brought me out here in the first place and how he seems to be taking care of me and providing for me. Why then would he abandon me once I go home? Am I any less dependent upon him there than here?The hike into Harper's Ferry went fine. It was a hot day, 99 including the dew point. Punkin was waiting on the north side of the Susquehanna River Bridge with apple pie and cokes. Pie twice in two days!! It was fun to visit the Appalachian Trail Center, get my photo taken (with my umbrella!) in front of the sign. I'm thru-hiker #973 now, I believe. I went out to a pizza place with Chopper, SIS, and Ketchup, who is doing the 4-state challenge starting at midnight (leave VA, then hike to the MD-PA border in 24 hours). I explored town (thankful to have a camera!) and got some ice cream and hiked to the Garvey shelter...talked on the phone and went to bed...really really tired.
Date: 2013-07-07
From: Ed Garvey Shelter

To: I-70 Footbridge
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: light rain

For some reason I woke up at 4:55am and couldn't fall back asleep. I checked my phone...no updates from my sister-in-law. Hmm. On Friday evening I had gotten a message that she had started going into labor, but it had stopped by Saturday morning. So I found myself checking my phone a lot, anxious to hear if the baby had come. So exciting!But today I had a long journey ahead of me--to hike 26.1 miles to get to the closest place where the AT crosses a road near the home of Norm and Miki, a couple who hosted a friend of mine who thru-hiked last year. It was a long ways to go, but it seemed just do-able enough that I thought it was a good challenge. So I packed up, ate a granola bar, and quickly hiked 3.7 miles to a state park where there was a water spigot, so I wouldn't have to hike down a long, steep path to the spring at the shelter to get water to make my breakfast. When I got to the park, Ketchup showed up just as I was about to start heating up some water. He had hiked 15 miles since 3 am. I made him a cup of coffee and then as I was boiling water for my own breakfast, I checked my phone again and this time I found a picture-message of my sister-in-law holding my niece, Callie Virginia, who had been born at 1:49am on Sunday. And of course she was adorable. So Ketchup was the first person to hear about my niece :-) Today I got to hike past a number of historical markers and sites, including the old, original Washington Monument. The area I was hiking through was where a number of Civil War battles took place. It made the walk a bit more interesting. It was a very, very hot day. By 2pm I was getting tired and I still had 8 more miles to go. I knew I could still do the 8 miles but it would be 6pm before I'd be done, and by the time Norm and Miki picked me up and I got a shower and washed my clothes, it would be really late to go out to eat (they had promised to take me to an AYCE place in town). So I decided to just call Norm and see if they could or would pick me up early. They were happy to do so and I still got a respectable 16 miles in, so I was happy. Later on I realized how fortunate I was that I got picked up early--a big storm came through. And I learned the next day that the trail would have gotten quite difficult, especially if I had hiked in the rain, as there were a few long stretches with big rocks, which would have made it very slow going. So I'm really glad I listened to my gut feeling and wasn't too afraid to ask to get picked up early.I called my sister-in-law while I waited to get picked up, and found out that Callie is healthy, 9# 11oz, 21.5" long. Big just like the boys :-) Norm and Miki greeted me with hugs, took me home, and let me take a nice shower. Then we had iced tea while we talked and watched the rest of the British Open Men's final. Dinner was great. Conversation was great. Norm and Miki asked so many good questions! It was a joy to stay with them. They even had a little goodie bag with treats and stuff for the trail in it. So cute! Thank you for your warm hospitality!!!
Date: 2013-07-08
From: I-70 Footbridge

To: Falls Creek
Miles today: 19.2
Weather: light rain

After a breakfast of crepes and some time on the computer, I headed back to the trail...About as soon as I started hiking I ran into Mooch, a thru-hiker I'd met in the Shenandoahs. He had also just gotten back from a weekend off the trail and since we walked about the same pace we ended up hiking all day together. We got up to the High Rocks overlook where there was a ton of graffiti (sad) and some teens were hitting golf balls with a tennis racket. I called Rhoda, another friend of friends who offered me a place to stay. Found out she and her husband had something going on the next night, so I made plans to stay with her on Wednesday and take a zero someplace to kill the time. Not a problem.Mooch and I got to the MD-PA border, where the little sign simply said "MD-PA". It was pretty unexciting really. I thought there might be something about the Mason-Dixon line but I was wrong. Mooch and I got into camp along a nice little creek around dusk--and then SIS showed up. I caught up with SIS while I cooked dinner, and then went to bed under the tarp. Another long day.
Date: 2013-07-09
From: Falls Creek

To: Caledonia State Park
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: clear sky

Mooch had packed up and was sitting there, smoking a cigarette, while I was packing up. It seemed like he was waiting for me, but I wasn't sure. I never assume anyone wants to hike with me as it seems like most people want to do their own thing, so when someone indicates that they want to hike with me, as Mooch seemed to be doing, it often comes as a surprise. Sure enough, when I was ready, Mooch left with me. I'm not exactly surprised...Yesterday he asked me some questions that made me think he was interested in me (he wanted to know my relationship status). I'm still not used to the attention that men show me and all the other female hikers, as there aren't that many of us.Soon after we left we met a hiker named Zach Galifianakis--he really does look like the actor! Stopped for lunch at Tumbling Run Shelters--2 shelters--one snoring and one non-snoring! Seriously there were signs posted! There were two picnic tables, too, and I joked that there should be "Smoking" and "Non-Smoking" signs up. Yesterday when Mooch and I hiked we heard of some folks doing trail magic at Caledonia State Park. They were fixing dinner and breakfast and letting hikers camp there. It sounded like a good option for the distance we wanted to hike, so that's where we went. We actually found two groups doing trail magic--one was a family of hikers and the other was a church group. Mooch and I went to the hiker campsite first and ended up staying. They were really nice and fed us well. Only two others camped there besides me and Mooch, a section hiker named Butterscotch Bob and a thru-hiker named Lt Cuckoo Bird, who was not speaking because he had decided to take a vow of silence (for no apparent reason) in PA. So it was a quiet place to camp. When I went over to the church group I found a big crowd of 20 or 30 hikers. So happy to see Fat Man Walking there! Haven't seen him since Erwin, TN! I met a Trail Angel named Miss Janet who is known all along the trail. It just took me this long to meet her for some reason. Nice to put a face to a name. She helps hikers as much as she can. She offered to take me into Shippensburg the next day.
Date: 2013-07-10
From: Caledonia State Park

To: Shippensburg, PA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Last night folks at the campsite said a storm was coming so I was nervous about getting wet. I'm always nervous about getting wet when I sleep under my tarp. I don't know why--it's not like I've gotten soaked yet. But yet it worries me. So I decided to pray that God would either send the storm in a different direction or keep me dry. When I woke up I realized it never rained. Turns out the storm split in two and went north and south of me and missed me completely. Now, I'm not going to take credit for changing the weather, but I don't mind thanking God for answering my prayer! :-) When I told someone I had prayed about the rain, he asked me if I can also part the seas. Yeah, right. Funny!The church group was making breakfast so I decided to go over there to eat. After some french toast, Miss Janet dropped me off at the library in Shippensburg. After an hour on the computer, I went to a pizza place where I ate two big slices and got into a conversation with the owner about the trail. He ended up buying me my meal! So nice!Rhoda came and picked me up and took me to an Old-Order Mennonite-run produce market where we got all sorts of local produce to eat with chicken for dinner. I asked the girl at the cash register if she was Old-Order Mennonite and she said, "No, I'm not because I drive a car." She was wearing the long dress and hair in a bun with a covering over it like every other woman who was working in the store. I told her I'm Mennonite, which I think through her off!! Rhoda is also Mennonite (but like me is not "conservative"). Rhoda took me home and we had a lovely meal...SO many veggies! It was delicious! Rhoda teaches an online college course so she did something with that while I used the computer. When I checked facebook I found out that a friend (though not a close friend) from back home had taken her own life. It was quite shocking to hear and very sad. I ended up staying up late talking with Rhoda about it. And once again, I'm grateful for the wisdom, assurance, and love of women like Rhoda who have come into my life while I've been hiking.