morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-07-02
From: US 522 Chester Gap at AT mile 955.5

To: Campsite at AT mile 971.8
Miles today: 16.3

Total miles today 16.4Trail miles today 16.3Start US 522Finish at campsite at AT mile 971.8staying in tent   Well, a zero day with the wife was a welcome break from my toils. I ate a lot and had trouble staying awake. I could tell that my feet and legs could have used another day. But that is against my self imposed rules. The only exception possibly being when I reach my house tomorrow afternoon. I need to visit REI on a couple of gear issues and they may not be open on the 4th. This may force a 2 day layover that I cannot avoid. But the 2 easy days from Front Royal to the house and a couple there should result in a nice gain in strength. It will ready me for the approx 150 mile dash up to Duncannon, PA. This is an easy section and ideal for making big miles.   After Duncannon I hit the 140 mile stretch of the dreaded PA rocks. A section of trail that is famous for tearing up shoes and feet. With my bad feet I am not looking forward to this section. I am contemplating having my regular lightweight hiking boots mailed to Duncannon for this stretch of trail.   Not much to say about this section of trail as I have been over it many times. It was very hot today (mid 90's) and I was glad it was an easy section and that I was only covering 16 miles. I will get up early tomorrow and knock off about 12 to 14 before noon to beat the heat.WyomingWhich way is North?
Date: 2006-07-03
From: Campsite at AT mile 971.8

To: VA Rt 7 Snickers Gap at AT mile 989.5
Miles today: 17.7

Total miles today 18.1Trail miles today 17.7Start at AT mile 971.8Finish at VA Rt 7 Snickers Gap at AT mile 989.5staying at home   A short day up to Rt 7 and then home for the 4th. Hotter than a pistol. The hiking was not too hard but the heat beat me down pretty good. There will be more of that.   I am really very worn out. I may take 2 days off to recuperate. I am amazed at how bone tired my muscles feel. It is taking about 30 minutes to completely loosen up in the morning now. Not good.. And my feet start swelling as soon as I stop walking. I am really gimpy after breaks for a few minutes and I am unable to walk barefoot on any hard surface now. All of my toes are partly or mostly numb.   And when I weighed myself at the house I had lost 15 lbs. Considering that I had about 7 restaurant meals in Shenandoah Park and another 5 in Front Royal I would guess that I had been down a good 17 or 18 at one point. I have to stop the weight loss or that fact alone will run me out of strength eventually.    I might have to take more zeros just to try and keep my weight up.   Off to REI to reoutfit a bit.WyomingWhich way is North?
Date: 2006-07-06
From: VA Rt 7 Snickers Gap at AT mile 989.5

To: Ed Garvey Shelter at AT mile 1015.8
Miles today: 26.3
Weather: broken clouds

Total miles today 28.2Trail miles today 26.3Start Snickers Gap Va Rt 7Finish at Ed Garvey Shelter at AT mile 1015.8staying in tent   Well, another day of milestones (not to mention lots of miles and even more stones). First, I passed 1000 miles; second, I entered West Virginia and finished Virginia; third, I reached Harpers Ferry the psychological halfway point (the actual is about 80 miles north of Harpers Ferry); fourth, I finished West Virginia and entered Maryland; and fifth, I think I did my biggest mileage day.   I did not mean to hike 26 miles as I was going to stay at the hostel along the canal path, but somehow I missed it and decided not to backtrack. I was trying out my new shoes and must have not been looking for the turn off.   Even after 2 days off, my feet were hurting bad today (maybe because of the days off), and the last 10 miles into HF has a lot of really bad rocks. The small sharp pointy kind. They were killing my feet. I literally limped out onto the 340 bridge. As I walked into town I was very down about my feet. Pennsylvania is famous for having about 130 miles of brutal rocks and I was thinking that my feet were not going to make it. So after signing in at the ATC HQ as a northbound thru hiker I wandered over to the outfitters to talk to them about my feet. One of their employees turned out to be a triple crowner (this means that he has hiked the AT, PCT and CDT) and there were 2 other people there who had completed AT hikes. We talked about my feet and shoes and their opinion was that if I was having this much trouble now that I would not make it through PA with the current shoes. So I tried on every kind of shoe they had and went and stepped on this real sharp pointy metal stair corner. My current shoes were clearly shot as the pain while wearing them was the worst.   But none of the light trail shoes was much better as they all allowed too much penetration. Finally, I tried on a new Vasque super light hiking boot that had a modified vibram type sole. These worked perfectly. I had them weigh the boots to see what they really weighed and it turned out that each boot was only 3 oz heavier than my Montrail Hardrock trail shoes. So I putzed around in them for awhile trying different lacing methods and finally bought them.   The difference was amazing. As soon as I started walking with them I had no further sharp pains in my feet. What a relief. My feet were still sore but I could walk almost normal. Cross my fingers that this works out.   I am going to be a little slow as I will have to watch out for blisters as most of my calluses are not in the right place for the boots. We will see what happens tomorrow.WyomingWhich way is North?
Date: 2006-07-07
From: Ed Garvey Shelter at AT mile 1015.8

To: Annapolis Rocks at AT mile 1034.0
Miles today: 18.2

Total miles today 19.2Trail miles today 18.2Start at Ed Garvey ShelterFinish at Annapolis Rocks at AT mile 1034.0staying in tent   Today felt longer than 18 miles. I expect that the 26 miles yesterday and the new boots accounted for that, as the weather was perfect and the terrain easy.   The new boots, by the way, seem to be the ticket as my feet had a good day. No blisters! This is pretty amazing as boots require a breaking period and your feet normally need to build some new callus' to match the new wear points. But they must fit almost perfectly as I did not even get hot spots.    My feet hurt much less today and I would not be surprised if the pain and swelling go down some over the next week. I really hope so.   I got a hot shower at a campground today and was talking to a number of hikers who had stopped off to do the same. A bunch of us decided to have dinner at a biker bar just off the trail near I70. It was pretty good. The bikers were all razing us. They probably get a lot of hikers there and think we are all nuts.   Well that is about it I guess. Need some sleep as I am kind of tired tonight.WyomingWhich way is North?
Date: 2006-07-08
From: Annapolis Rocks at AT mile 1034.0

To: PA16 at AT mile 1053.0
Miles today: 19.0

Total miles today 19.3Trail miles today 19.0Start at Annapolis RocksFinish at PA16 at AT mile 1053.0staying in house   Serious trail magic today. Twice I came across soft drinks left out alongside the trail for thru hikers. And then, when I reached PenMar Park this gentleman named Tucker was sitting at a picnic table doing some paperwork and waiting for thru hikers. He gave me another coke and then drove me to local pizza place to get lunch. Then, low and behold, he invites me to his house for the night, buys a bunch of ice cream and cooks dinner. A very nice guy. He is also thinking about starting a hostel for At hikers and we talked about that some as well. I gave him the names of a few folks who run hostels to contact as I figured they would be better advisors than me. This would seem like a great location for a hostel all right as it is in a stretch of trail where the amenities are sparse.   The new boots performed well today in rocks that were pretty nasty. My feet were sore today but I think it was more residual pain form before the new boots. How the feet are going to turn out will not probably be known for a couple of weeks.    Well tomorrow should be a good test though as there will be 2 separate 1000 ft climbs. It is late. Time to sleep.Which way is North?wyo
Date: 2006-07-09
From: PA16 at AT mile 1053.0

To: Quarry Gap Shelter at AT mile 1070.9
Miles today: 17.9

Total miles today 18.3Trail miles today 17.9Start at PA16Finish at Quarry Gap Shelter at AT mile 1070.9Staying in shelter   I forgot to mention yesterday that I am now in Pennsylvania! 6 states down and 8 to go. PA will not be short like WV and Maryland as it is some 230 miles across. Not huge like VA but pretty far.   I decided to stay in this shelter because it is the nicest one I have ever seen. The design is excellent and the place is spotless. Jim Stauch, the shelter maintainer, has put serious care into this place. Painting, landscaping, flowers, gravel around it instead of mud, board games, a park bench, clothes lines, a big tarp windbreak that can be rolled up or down as needed, the eating/cooking area is under roof (all shelters should do it this way as no one is going out in the rain to cook. They will just do it in the shelter), and a bunch of other things. Plus there are 2 different sleeping areas so I might end up by myself, but probably not as folks often arrive late and it is only 8 pm right now. But it is raining and at the campground a couple of miles back some trail angels were cooking dinner for any thru's that showed up and had paid for a campsite for them to stay in. They were also going to cook them breakfast. I thought about this and then checked my guide and realized that if I stayed it was going to mess me up with getting to Dunncannon 3 days from now.   I am already running a little behind where I wanted to be because of my late start this morning. Not that I minded that as it was definitely worth it, but any more delays and I will not get there. As it is I am planning on a 26 mile day from the campground next to Boilling Springs to Duncannon. This is hard to avoid as there is no camping past Boilling Springs for 15 miles.   If the old body craps out on me before Duncannon I can stay at a shelter some 4 miles short of town. Or I can crawl in.   The new boots are working well and I am adapting to them. I still have not fully learned that the soles are thicker than the trail runners were and am frequently scuffing my feet on rocks and kicking things with the toes. Have to learn to pick my feet up higher I guess. Even though they are only 3 oz a shoe heavier than the trail runners by the end of the day I notice it. My legs are still building up to the new strength needed. It is mostly on up hills that I see the effect of the extra weight on my feet. It slows me down then. Conversely I can now go faster on down hills as I no longer have to worry as much about the extra impact on my feet. My knees hurting while going downhill now limits my new top speed. On the flat I don't think there is much difference except for that I don't have to watch as carefully where I step as I used to. Damn bugs are eating me. Time to turn in.WyomingWhich way is North?
Date: 2006-07-10
From: Quarry Gap Shelter at AT mile 1070.9

To: Pine Grove Furnace State Park at AT mile 1088.2
Miles today: 17.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Total miles today 18.5Trail miles today 17.3Start at Quarry Gap ShelterFinish at Pine Grove Furnace State Park at AT mile 1088.2staying in Hostel   Well I am past the actual halfway point of 1087.3 miles. I would say it is all downhill from here but I can¢t since north is up. But for the lucky south bounders it is downhill the rest of the way    It was another real hot day. The high heat just saps my strength. I could feel that I was running out of gas when I got here at 2:30. Not that 17 miles in just under 7 hours of walking is bad, but to do another 7 or 8 miles would have been a grind. Tomorrow I am going to take it kind of easy again and just go as far as Boilling Springs Campground 19 miles from here. The day after tomorrow I need to do a 26 mile day to get to Duncannon. Another test for me.   In the spirit of trying to fight the weight loss I had the following for dinner (spread out over several hours); 3 pints of ice cream, 2 cheese burgers, fries, a pint of whole milk, and a 20 oz coke. By looking at the packaging and guessing at the burgers/fries I think it was about 4500 calories. When added to the rest of what I ate earlier in the day I think the days total was about 6500 calories. Hope I have good energy tomorrow.   And I bought some big donuts for breakfast that say they are 600 calories each. That should help.   The feet were finally indicating that they needed to adapt to the new boots a little more today. They were hurting some after 13 miles but I sat and soaked them in a spring for a while and that helped. Wyoming   Which way is North?
Date: 2006-07-11
From: Pine Grove Furnace State Park at AT mile 1088.2

To: Boilling Springs at AT mile 1107.6
Miles today: 19.4

Total miles today 20.5Trail miles today 19.4Start at Pine Grove Furnace ParkFinish at Boilling Springs at AT mile 1107.6staying in tent   Hot day today. I went through about 7 liters of water and then 2 big cokes at dinner, and I am sucking on a liter of Gatorade right now. A guy I was hiking with had dehydration problems today. I stayed with him until we found water and he had consumed several liters. He wanted to stay at the spring for another hour or so, so I went on.    Had about 1 1/2 miles of walking between corn fields in the direct sun today. Makes one appreciate being in the green tunnel a little more. But in the tunnel the bugs were horrible. Mosquitoes, flies, gnats, you name it. The heavy rains created perfect breeding for them. I have the concentrated DEET for hikers and I was very frustrated as I had to apply it 3 times by 10:30. The sweat kept washing it off. So at lunch I bought a can of OFF spray repellent. Used a bunch of that too. It was too hot to hike fast to get away from them (if you hike at about 3 mph you can out run a lot of the biters).   Speaking of eating. After lunch I figured out that in the previous 24 hours I had eaten 8000 calories of food. Not too bad. I had good energy today. And I ate a giant Stromboli for dinner.    Got to go early tomorrow for it is 26 miles to Duncannon and it is supposed to be 90 degrees.   Ouch. I am thinking of throwing away all my remaining food except for what I need to get me through the day, just to save weight. Water or Gatorade and energy bars. Might be an epic.WyomingWhich way is North?
Date: 2006-07-12
From: Boilling Springs at AT mile 1107.6

To: Duncannon at AT mile 1133.2
Miles today: 25.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Total miles today 25.8Trail miles today 25.6Start at Boilling SpringsFinish at Duncannon at AT mile 1133.2staying at Doyle Hotel   Tired tonight. The first part of the day was a long flat section of about 13 miles which passed through lots of farmland. It was kind of nice except for the incredible amounts of spider webs I had to brush out of the way. I had little spiders all over me. Maybe my trail name should be Spiderman as I am usually the first hiker on the trail and thus privileged to break trail for everyone else.   Zero tomorrow to build strength for the famous northern Pa rocks. We got a taste late today and they are just like the bad rocks in No Va. Sharp edges and points sticking up. Feet destroyers.   Falling asleep. More tomorrow.WyomingWhich way is North?
Date: 2006-07-14
From: Duncannon at AT mile 1133.2

To: Rattling Run at AT mile 1154.7
Miles today: 21.5

Total miles today 22.0Trail miles today 21.5Start at DuncannonFinish at Rattling Run at AT mile 1154.7staying in tent   Well the bugs were atrocious and the rocks were worse. I am still using spray bug repellant and I bought a new can before I left town. Even though I use it pretty often I bet I got bit 100 times today. Almost all mosquitoes and a few knats. I actually started a smoky fire at camp tonight to drive the bugs away. Chemical warfare on 2 fronts.   The rocks were not actually any worse than what one runs into in Va or Md, but they went on for a long distance. And there was one stretch of a couple of miles uphill that was just walking on a pile of loose rocks about the size of baseballs. Even with the boots my feet did not appreciate that.   Sy was supposed to join me here tonight but it is well past sunset and he has not showed. He was going to start about 1 1/2 hours after me. As I got here at 6:20 that puts him on a tight schedule.   I heard that my friend Joe Cro hurt his foot and went to stay with his daughter for awhile. Probably won't see him again now. And I was only about 1/2 day behind him and thought I would catch him at Duncannon. A number of hikers have left with injuries lately.   Not much else to say. Got to rest up for another 20+ miles of rocks tomorrow.   Whooyahh!!WyomingWhich way is North?
Date: 2006-07-15
From: Rattling Run at AT mile 1154.7

To: William Penn Shelter at AT mile 1175.4
Miles today: 20.7
Weather: moderate rain

Total miles today 21.7Trail miles today 20.7Start at Rattling RunFinish at William Penn Shelter at AT mile 1175.4staying in tentToday was my 34 day with some kind of rain. It is my 77th day since I started the approach trail to Springer Mtn.   Another milestone...less than 1000 miles to go!    Today was hard work towards the end. Most of the trail this morning was pretty nice and I made good time. I had 13.5 miles in by noon. Then things got tough as it was up a sizeable hill on very rocky trail. The trail was badly overgrown in areas making it hard to see where to put ones feet and on top of that it was raining. It took me 4 hours to go the 7.2 miles to where I decided to camp. On any other day I would have gone on another few miles as there was still lots of daylight left, but the body was not willing. Even with my boots the feet were hurting pretty bad. As I lay here writing sharp pains are shooting across the bottoms of them. Guess it¢s time for the nightly foot massage.   I am trying to pace myself through this long stretch of bad rocks in order to lessen the chance of injury. Hope that works. I have to go real slow at times because these rocks are often loose and/or very pointed and when you step on them it tends to roll your ankles and knees a lot. Both of my knees were aching most of the day.   Just had another thru hiker come in from the south and she did not see Sy. Something must have happened and he never got out of town.   Good news though. At this shelter I found an entry from Joe Cro who I had been told was off trail due to injury. Not so apparently. He is 2 days ahead of me. He moves at about my pace so I am not likely to catch him until he zeros when he goes to visit his daughter in NYC when we reach NY state.    I better hit the sack..oh wait I am already in it. WyomingWhich way is North?
Date: 2006-07-16
From: William Penn Shelter at AT mile 1175.4

To: Campsite at AT mile 1195.6
Miles today: 20.2

Total miles today 20.6Trail miles today 20.2Start at William Penn ShelterFinish at campsite at AT mile 1195.6staying in tent   Lots of bad rocks today, but also some good trail as well. One can sometimes get sort of a rhythm going in the bad rocks and make good time. Then after a while it seems to get lost and the rocks seem to start reaching up and grabbing at the toe of ones boots. After stubbing ones toes about 30 times an hour they get kind of sore. When I am fresh from a rest and meal I do pretty well, but when I run out of fuel (which happens about a hour or two after I eat) I sort of resemble a clock that needs winding as I slow way down and start to trip a lot. I just can't seem to get enough food in me.   My appetite has not returned to where it was. It must be the heat as it is very hot and muggy. I should be able to get some lunch in Port Clinton tomorrow when I pass through. I am only going to get enough supplies to reach Palmerton vice Delaware Water Gap as originally planned. That will force me into town where I can get more town food.    Wyoming Which way is North?
Date: 2006-07-17
From: Campsite at AT mile 1195.6

To: Eckville Shelter at AT mile 1218.4
Miles today: 22.8
Weather: few clouds

Total miles today 24.2Trail miles today 22.8Start at AT mile 1195.6Finish at Eckville Shelter at AT mile 1218.4Staying in Tent   It was an interesting day. I got up pretty early and hit the trial at 0620. I could tell I needed more food (I was basically out) as the 7 or so miles into Port Clinton seemed hard. It was pretty hot early, but it was still mostly downhill. When I got there I headed down the road to a restaurant and ordered the biggest breakfast they made. That perked me up a bunch. I was expecting to hitch into Hamburg to resupply but good fortune hit me. As I was walking through town I noticed a couple of hikers at the town pavilion (the town lets folks stay there) and went over to talk to them. I told them I was going into Hamburg to get a couple days supplies and they said there was that much in the hiker box. I went over and looked and I was done shopping right there. As Port Clinton is a standard mail drop location many people have extra food they put in the box. I probably left with 3 days supplies. Not only that but someone dropped off a case of beer (for hydration purposes of course). It was after breakfast so I thought just one was ok.   Then it was up the big hill...and boy was that hot! I went through 2 liters of water in 3 miles. After that it was not so bad except for the rocks which were kind of tough for a few miles. But these were big rocks which one can hop across vice the little sharp ones.   Later I hit really good trail and ended up going several miles farther than I had intended. When I arrived at the shelter the hikers there had just finished eating and had extra hot dogs that they asked me if I wanted. I only ate five as I didn't want to appear impolite. Later they gave me 3 bagels and 2 apples. Wow. I am set for life...or till breakfast tomorrow.   There are lots of thru hikers here. Slingshit with his buddy, Compass Rose with her friend, and another couple. I always forget names so that is all I can remember. Plus there are a couple of section hikers and a troop of girl scouts.WyomingWhich way is North?
Date: 2006-07-18
From: Eckville Shelter at AT mile 1218.4

To: Campsite along trail at AT mile 1240.3
Miles today: 20.9

Total miles today 22.9Trail miles today 20.9Start at Eckville shelterFinish at campsite along trail at AT mile 1240.3staying in tent   Another hard day in the Pennsylvania rocks. One very rugged section now has top honors for difficulty passing up the area around the Dragons Tooth near Catawba, VA Lots of piles of big rocks had to be crossed today. I am pretty good at these kind of rocks as compared to those horrible sharp little ones. I just sort of hop from one to the other. It is kind of like a game except that it does tire one out pretty quickly. As usual my feet are throbbing big time and little sharp pains are shooting through my toes.    I hiked most of the day with Compass Rose and Dirt Diva. They are 2 schoolteachers who quit their jobs to hike the trail. They are very strong and fast. They could easily out hike me. Course just about everyone under the age of 30 can do that.   Come afternoon my feet just crap out and I slow way down.   Forty more miles of rocks and I am done with Pa. The last 16 miles are supposed to be the hardest of them all. We will see.   Another day with rain, but not very much. Actually it was good because it cooled things down a lot. It was another wicked hot day before that.   I am going to try and hit Palmerton about 7:30 tomorrow for breakfast and a resupply.Wyoming   Which way is North?