morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-06-02
From: Black Rock Hut

To: Hightop Hut
Miles today: 21.4
Weather: clear sky

Today Beekpr and I said our goodbyes for a few weeks and I was on my way. I have to say I'm going to miss the fun we had together and the friendship we shared over the hundreds of miles we hiked together. He was a great friend to hike with and I'll be looking forward connecting with him again in PA. in about 3 weeks.It was a little strange hiking solo again but I was greeted with some great views and a lot of wildlife. There seemed to be deer all over the trail today and since they can't be hunted in the Park they lost their fear of humans and just stand there looking at you. Around 10:00 AM I hiked into Loft Mtn. Campground and straight to the campstore to buy some extra food for the next few days and to piece together a lunch. I bought a bagel, some Philadelphia Cream Cheese, a can of ham spread, a Moon Pie, and a liter of gater aid and layed out in the grass and had a feast in the sun. I was joined by Mtn. Mom and O.L.I.F. They were going to the next shelter and I was heading for the one after that aout 9 miles further so we said our goodbyes and off I went. It was an absolutely beautiful day for hiking. Kinda cold in the morning but warming up nicely in the afternoon. This is definitely a different kind of hike through the Shenandoah Park. As with today, I'll be hitting another campground tomorrow and another camp store for lunch - this is my kind of hiking! I've heard you can eat your way through the Park and now I see what they mean. I'll be hitting places to eat or buy food, it would seem, everyday so maybe I'll be able to gain a few pounds on that I've lost over the past 2 1/2 months. At the present rate I'll probably be out of the Park thursday or friday and then on to Harpers Ferry hopefully by Monday.A few of the Thru Hikers here came across bears today and I've seen plenty of scat and paw prints, so I'm thinking it wont be very long before I'll be running across one myself - hope I can get the camera out in time.Another thing about the A.T. here is that it parallels Skyline Drive and crosses it 28 times from the south border to the Northern.Tomorrow we have our old companion returning, RAIN predicted again. Hoping very strongly here that it misses us or is just lite showers, but time will tell.Tomorrow I'll be heading towards Big Meadow Campground about 22 miles away with many great views along the way. With any luck, we wont be walking in a cloud as usually happens when the rains hit Virginia.It's getting rather dark in the shelter so I'm going to sign off for the night. I'll catch you'all tomorrow.
Date: 2003-06-03
From: Hightop Hut

To: Big Meadow Lodge
Miles today: 20.4

Revelation! There really are bar in them dar woods. That's right, I had my first bear encounter today. I got up at 6:30 at the shelter and was the first one of the 5 Thru Hikers and 1 section hiker to leave at around 7:15. About 100 yards from the shelter on a side trail leading back to the A.T. I saw 2 deer standing on the trail watching as I approached. When I was about 20 feet from them they ran into the woods to my left and at the same time I heard a noise to my right and as I turned the bear, and a good size one too, turned his/her head and we looked at each other for a split second and with that he took off crashing through the woods like a bat out of hell. About the only intelligent thing I could think of saying was...Wow! After watching him run away I can see why they tell you not to run, I couldn't believe how fast he was. Hopefully, if there is a next time I'll have more time to get my camera out for a picture.We're back into that wonderful Virginia weather pattern again where it rained from about 8:30 and hasn't stopped yet at 8:00 PM. By noon it was a hard rain accompanied by wind gusts that from the way it was bending the trees had to be in the 40 MPH range. When its like this we don't stop very often since the overlooks are all clouded and the fact that you start freezing your but off if you stay in one place too long. I did stop at the Lewis Mtn Campground since they have a campstore and bought a few things for lunch. That was right at noon and I covered just under 12 miles. After eating I headed back to the trail for the last 9 miles to Big Meadow Lodge. The rain and wind was terrific, especially when I summited Hazel Top Mtn. My boots held up most of the way, but elas, they were flooded by the time I arrived at the lodge. I took a cabin since they have fireplaces and before long I had a good fire going to dry out my boots and some of my clothes that I handwashed in the sink.I'm going to stay long enough for breakfast tomorrow before going back to the trail. The weather is calling for thunderstorms and not this persistent, heavy rain we have now and hopefully the wind will die down a bit. Anyway, it has to be better than today was. I'm thinking that I'll probably hike past Thornton Gap to the next shelter, about 19 miles, tomorrow if the weather cooperates.
Date: 2003-06-04
From: Big Meadow Lodge

To: Pass Mountain Hut
Miles today: 18.8
Weather: light rain

What a contrast between yesterday and today. I left my cabin to go to the lodge for breakfast at 7:15 and the air was completely still, a little warm and very humid. I know I said it before but what a difference a day makes. After downing their pancake breakfast I ordered an omelette, hash browns and an english muffin. It's amazing how much food I can put away now and never have to worry about putting on any weight. I left Big Meadow around 9:15 and hiked the 7.5 miles to Skyland Campground at noon where I met a hiker named Grizzly. I've been hiking on and off with him for the past 2 days. We went into the restaurant and had ruben sandwiches-god I love roughing it! The Shenandoah Park area has certainly lived up to its billing, it's quite the smorgasbord the way they have campgrounds spread along Skyline Drive that the A.T. parallels. Almost all of them have campstores and a few have restaurants. This Park is the only place so far that we come even close to the 4000+ calories that we burn off daily.We're hiking through areas now with a great deal of history. Although some parts of the trail here were initiated by the A.T.C. a good deal of it is from old trails that, God only knows, how long they existed. On a cloudy, foggy, day as today it's not hard to see the ghosts of Mosby's men or Stonewall Jacksons Foot Calvary passing down the trail in order to do one of his famous flanking movements. Ahhh a good imagination is fabulous...smiling!With one fulol day left in the Park I'll visit Elkwallow Gap Campground tomorrow for the final restaruant lunch in the park. Sure gonna miss the food.The weather for the next 2 days calls for partly cloudy so NO Rain!! I can finally get my camera out of my pack and put it where I can use it again. Looking forward to this!
Date: 2003-06-05
From: Pass Mountain Hut

To: Tom Floyd Shelter
Miles today: 23.6
Weather: broken clouds

I got an early start to a long day. Usually no one moves until at least 6:30 but it seems everyone in the shelter was geting up about 6:00, so we had an early start to a long day. Our first objective was to get to Elkwallow Gap to buy lunch, our last easy to get food in Shenandoah National Park. I arrived at 10:00 with Grizzle and Trucken and ordered their cheese stake sub, fries, and a delicious Mtn. Blackberry Shake that they are famous for. After stuffing ourselves and buying a few more edibles to take on the hike we were of again. Figuring that we would be hiking out of the Park today, I thought we might be declining in elevatio but I was very wrong. Throughout the whole hiking day we asscended 8 different summits and I can tell you, thats a lot of climbing. I'm going to miss Shenandoah Nat. Park and not just for the food, but also for its beauty and abundant wildlife. It's amazing how many deer we see daily. I've had to shoo a couple that were blocking the trail almost daily. I also saw my first Wild Turkey here as well as my first encounter with a Black Bear.I was thinking today about all the rain we've had since we've started hiking Virginia and couldn't help think of the situation the Civil War Soldiers found themselves in when they fought so many times in this State. So many books I've read about the war manke reference to the rain and mud these men had to deal with when in Virginia. After experiencing all the rain and mud from Central Virginia on up, I think the Thru Hikers now have an inkling of an idea the hardships these soldiers from the past had to deal with. If anything, I'm more awed by what they did than ever. I went on tonight to Tom Floyd Shelter while Trucken and Grizzle went to the local Hostel for the night. I'll be able to get a much earlier start in the morning from here. There is only one other hiker at the shelter so we pretty much have the whole place to ourselves. The weather is supposed to hold up for at least tomorrow before it craps out and rains for the weekend. So hopefully I can make some miles tomorrow. Heading for Harpers Ferry now...only 58 miles to go.
Date: 2003-06-06
From: Tom Floyd Shelter

To: Rod Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 27.0
Weather: overcast clouds

It was a great day for a hike. The weather was near perfect but with predictions of rain again tonight and tomorrow and probably Sunday so I decided early to do some big miles while it was nice and take 2 shorter days into Harpers Ferry. I left the shelter at 7 am and hiked down to Chester Gap by 8:30 and crossed the highway to one of the muddiest parts of the trail I've been on yet. The first couple of miles north of the Gap were in dire need of maintenance with lots of Poison Ivy on the sides and climbing on trees hanging out in the trail area where hikers could easily come in contact. One muddy section of about 20 yards had mud over the top of my boot laces of my boots, but after a couple of miles the trail improved. I want to thank Bamboo Bob for leaving the potatoes chips and pepsi's at the stile crossing near the Gap, I was very happy to have them.When I reached Manassas Gap at noon I wated to go the 1.2 miles into Linden, Va. to a grocery store and buy some food for the rest of the trip to Harpers Ferry and to chow down on some lunch. I ended up walking the whole way into Linden since no one would pick up this hungry hitchhiker. After eating there I tried hitchhiking back to the trail head with the same results until about 3/4 mile away from my destination a kindly gentleman picked me up and dropped me off at the trail head. When I arrived at Dave's Dome Shelter at about 18 miles and 3:30 PM in the afternoon, I had to make a decision to stay or go on to the next shelter. As usual there were many elevation changes and I was tired from the heat and hiking the last 18 miles but I liked the idea of not having to hike thes 9 miles the next day in the rain and it put me that much closer to Harpers Ferry. When I arrived at Ashby Gap I was crossing a 4 lane highway and was voing through the high grass of the median strip when an SUV pulls up to me and the guy says, "You sure look like you could use a beer" and handed me one. So here I was in the middle of this highway downing a Michilob Lite, but I'll tell you after being in that hot sun all day I made short work of it. I thanked the guy and went across the highway and started climbing back into the woods again. I arrived at the shelter at 7:10 PM completing about 27 miles. Needless to say I was pooped and just wanted to eat and get to bed. I ran into a hiker I haven't seen since the day we left GlasGow, Va., Rebob. Zoolander, Chickenfeet and Flanders and a few other Thru Hikers were there with a few other Thru Hikers and Southbound Section Hikers. Well heres hoping the weatherman was wrong since we're tackling "The Roller Coaster" first thing tomorrow. It's a series of 17 small accents totalling about 5000 feet of elevation gain. Sounds like it could be a good workout. I'll tell you tomorrow how the whole thing worked out.
Date: 2003-06-07
From: Rod Hollow Shelter

To: Blackburn A.T. Center
Miles today: 17.8
Weather: moderate rain

I left the shelter this morning not sure about my destination. It was raining from the start, around 7:30am and I knew I could stop at an ATC hostel or hike 3 miles further to the next shelter. I don't normally like staying at hostels but it was nice to have the option. About 1/2 mile from the shelter I came across the sign stating I was about to enter the Roller Coaster and after spending the day going through it I can understand why it's so named. The climbs were very steep with only a few switchbacks throughoutthe day and the trail was either very rocky or very muddy making for difficult footing. At the botom of each decent was a creek to cross and with the rain we've had they were swollen and running fast making for difficult crossings.Near the top of one climb I had a pleasant surprise, at a forest road crossing I saw Rebob, who was at the shelter with me last night, holding an umbrella. As I came out of the woods a 1998 Thru Hiker named Huffer and Puffer gave me an umbrella and told me to take whatever I wantedto eat and drink. He had an assortment of cookies, banannas and drinks and he couldn't have been in a better place since I was just getting hungry. I couldn't thank him more. He complimented us at keeping such high spirits with the tremendous amount of rain we've had, and coming from a past Thru Hiker, I consider that high praise. Thanks for being there Huffer and Puffer when we needed you....your a real "Trail Angel".I hiked the rest of the day with Rebob and we spent the day getting wet going up and down the Coaster. I think Rebob thought I was nuts at one creek crossing where there didn't seem to be a way to get across so he waded through flooding his boots. Mine were still fairly dry inside and I hate hiking in soaked boots so I somehow found a pattern of rock hopping and using various jammed logs in the creek made it to the other side unscathed. Of course there was always the poosiblility of falling in pack and all so I don't know how smart it was, but I made it with dry boots intact.At Snickers Gap we had our obligatory Snickers before moving on. By the end of the 17 miles of constant ups and downs and being soaked from the rain, we decided to stay at the Blackburn ATC Hostile. Best decision we made. The people there were fabulous and made us a huge spagetti dinner which was a surprise to us all. Fremont, Chickenfeet & Flanders, Zoolander, and Magatu were there with us. Tomorrow on to Harpers Ferry and an extra day of rest and my new boots.
Date: 2003-06-08
From: Blackburn A.T. Center

To: Harpers Ferry
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Rebob and I were up by 6am and on the trail by 7. We were both looking forward to getting to Harpers Ferry. The trail was so much easier and better than yesterday and no rain-we couldn't ask for more. I'm going to pick up some new boots tomorrow at the post office and not a moment too soon. About 3 miles from the Ferry I felt some rubbing against my right heel and when I took my boot off I saw a blister. My first since leaving Springer Mountain 2-1/2 months ago. I can't complain though, the boots got me this far and counting the 100 miles I had on them before the hike, they gave me 1,100 miles of service. Not bad at all. Upon arriving in town we went to the ATC Headquarters to register. We were numbers 256 and 257 to pass through the Ferry. I was a little surprised that was all there had been. A lot of hikers have dropped out since the beginning and I'm sure there will be more as we go on but as for me, I'm ready for the next section. They took our pictures for their 2003 book and I finally joined the ATC. After hiking on the AT this long I couldn't imagine not being a member. It's been a very special time for me, the good and the bad, and this is a special organization that keeps the spirit of the trail alive. After checking into the motel I took a walk back into town to get something to eat. As I was passing the ATC I ran into Fremont and the rest of the hikers from yesterday as they were just arriving. One of them noticed a bar-b-q going next to the ATC building and a fellow hiker eating. We were all invited over to share a birthday and wedding anniversary of "Asheepstuff" and she and her husband prepared a fabulous spread of food. Lets just say I porked out big time and left fat and happy. Well maybe not fat, but happy.Well, here's hoping the boots I ordered from R.E.I. from Waynesboro are at the Post Office tomorrow and heres hoping they fit. One way or another I'll leave here with new boots. This is a great place, full of history and I'll be spending a day off exploring around.
Date: 2003-06-10
From: Harpers Ferry

To: Rocky Run Shelter
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: scattered clouds

This morning was one of those mornings you just hate to leave a cozy bed for the trail. Your body is saying, stay, stay, but your mind snaps into hiker mode and its tells you to get your ass up, pack up and lets do some hiking. Obviously the mind won out this morning. I had to mail some stuff home so I got a rather late start at 10:00 AM. It was just a great day for hiking, a bit on the humid side, but sunny and DRY! Yesterday was to be my day for resting, but I did precious little of that. I went to the Post Office at 8:30 AM to pick up a food drop from my wife and a pair of new boots mailed from R.E.I., since mine were shot. I needed to do a breakin test with them to see if there was any problems so I hiked with full pack over the railroad bridge over the Potomac River and up Maryland Heights on the other side to the Harpers Ferry overlook above the town. It was absolutely breathtaking up there with views of the Shenandoah River, Potomac River, the Ferry and all the surrounding mountains. I stayed up there for an hour soaking it all in, then hiked down and back to the motel. They (boots) seemed to fit pretty well and after 15.5 miles today I can say I have no problems with my new Asolo's.The hike today went across the Potomac River on the railroad bridge and followed the C & O Canal for a few miles before turning into the woods. The trail was great and the trail maintainers did a wonderful job of keeping the vegetation from encroaching on the trail. Since there was a good deal of Poison Ivy this was a good thing. I was moving at a moderate pace most of the day since I didn't want to over do it with my new boots. In a few days I should be able to speed up again as they break in.I hiked into Gatherland State Park, Maryland around 1:00 PM in time to take a lunch right next to a soda machine. It doesn't get much better than that. After a couple of Power Aid drinks I hiked on until I reached Rocky Run Shelter around 4:00 PM. It's an unusual looking shelter built in 1940-41 and has two detached decks, with chairs and benches and table and one deck with a porch swing on it. Spiderman and Trucken came in about 2 hours after I arrived. It was good to see them again as I haven't seen them since Shenandoah Park. I'll stay in the shelter tonight since, yes again, it will probably rain tonight and tomorrow. At least I'll be able to start out dry.
Date: 2003-06-11
From: Rocky Run Shelter

To: Devils Race Couse Shelter
Miles today: 20.2

The weather did something unexpected today--it didn't rain as precicted. I think that's a first but I'll take it. It was great not having to hike all wet and soggy-hope it lasts! Incidently, I forgot to mention yesterday that when I left Harpers Ferry and crossed the Potomac River I added Maryland to my list of States that I hiked. The A.T. only runs about 40 miles from W.Va. to Pa., so it only takes a couple of days to hike. I'll be in Pennsylvania early tomorrow since I'll only have 5 miles left to get there, and then I'll have 7 States.The hike today was a fairly easy grade with a tough rock walk and 2 hairy creek crossings. I'm keeping my speed moderate until my boots are broken in better. So far no blisters so I think I made the right purchase. The hike took me through a few Civil War Battle sites on South Mountain at Fox Gap and Turners Gap. The fight on South Mtn. was the prelude to the Battle of Antietam, our countries bloodiest single day of combat. Also, I stopped at the first Washington Monument built on South Mtn. in the 1830's by the people of Boonsboro, Md. During the Civil War it was used by both sides as a lookout tower.I arrived at the Devils Racecourse Shelter around 4:15 PM. My information had it .3 miles off the A.T. on a side trail, but it didn't mention that it also went down a few hundred feet thant I'll have to climb out of tomorrow. It's an old shelter with a very low roof...I already bonked my head twice, so gotta keep a low profile when coming in or out. There are only 4 other hikers here tonight, "Hiking Viking" from Norway, "Righton" from Houston, Trucken and Spiderman.Tomorrow is supposed to be rainy too so with any luck we'll get another break and have a dry hike. Tomorrow, Pennsylvania!
Date: 2003-06-12
From: Devils Race Couse Shelter

To: Rocky Mountain shelter
Miles today: 19.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Another surprising day, the weather forcast was for rain and I woke up to partly cloudy, warm and humid. These were the conditions throughout the day until about 5pm. First of all I have to say I hiked into Pennsylvania this morning at tabout 9:30 AM just after crossing the Mason Dixon line. I hiked about 20 miles today so I'm about 15 miles into PA. It was a very hot and humid day, just the opposite of what we were used to where it is usually wet, cold, and windy. I wish the wind did blow a little today since the humidity made you sweat whenever you exhurted yourself. I'll say this for PA., they don't lack for shelters. I passed 3 today before settling for the 4th, Rocky Mtn. Shelter, and I just made it into that one before a big thunderstorm hit. At 3:45 I could hear the thunder far off so I picked up the pace and by the time I got to the shelter at 4:15 the storm was almost on top of me. I took my pack off, grabged my water bottles and purifier and made tracks down to the spring .3 miles downhill and just made it back when the sky opened up and it just poured. I was happy to see Milo and Nuke at the shelter, I finally caught up with them. We haven't haked together since they left the trail in Central Virginia. Their plan is to hike thru to Maine and then come back into Virginia to finish the 200+ miles they missed. It was fun catching up on all the things we've done since we saw each other. Tomorrow, I'm heading to a grocery store about .9 miles down US 30 where the A.T. crosses, since I'm just about out of food. I'll be going through Caledonia State Park where they have a consession stand and that means Food! You gotta love that.On Saturday I'll be in Pine Grove Furnace State Park where at the campstore they have a tradition that all Thru Hikers stop and eat a half gallon of Ice Cream, or at least try. They call it the "Half Gallon Club". I'm definitely looking forward to that...sure hope they have cherry vanilla.