morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-05-18
From: Thorton Gap in Shenadoah

To: Gravel Springs Hut
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: overcast clouds

So this is my first long distance AT backpack since my hamstring repair.Greenie and I were driven down to Luray, VA by Puddles and my son Chris on Saturday and dropped on the trail at about 8:30AM on Sunday. We slackpacked the first 8.6 miles to get our legs up and running where we had spent about 10 hours on Saturday driving down south.We met Puddles and Chris for lunch at the Elkwallow Gap wayside. They were to meet us by noon with lunch and our gear - but they were waiting for us at the picnic area vs. the wayside where we were waiting. We did finally connect when I wandered over to the picnic area and oddly enough Chris ventured out in the car to see if we were at the Wayside.Hanging out at the wayside we met Flossy and Gray Squirrel along with Reset and three brothers from Texas. Greenie and I packed our gear after lunch and headed off to the shelter while Chris and Puddles headed back north.We put into the hut at about 3:00 or so, set our tents up and went about our camp chores and dinner preparation. After eating we wandered over to the shelter only to find we had just missed seeing a bear that had come into camp.We hit the hay before dark, thus ending a good first day on the trail.
Date: 2014-05-19
From: Gravel Springs Hut

To: Mosby primitive tent site
Miles today: 16.7

We were up and out today by our usual 7:15AM and on the trail heading north. We saw many wild flowers and a variety of birds including bluebirds and a Scarlet Tanager. The trail in Shenandoah is beautiful and well maintained, but today I managed to hit my right big toe straight on about 12 or 15 times and created a blister under the nail and the nail bed. On top of it, I started having a blister under my right foot behind the toes and my left knee was acting up to boot. The good news in my hamstring is now the least of my worries...which by the way has not been an issue at all.As we approached Front Royal, there was a high chain link fence that started deep in the woods and ran all the way to the highway. Greenie and I thought it was more like Jurassic Park than anything else as it was kind of creepy.At one point I hit my toe (the bad one) and let out a series of bad words - to which I heard a thunderous noise in the woods like a tree falling. Greenie said it was the biggest vulture he had ever seen that took flight just as I cursed. I guess I better watch my words out here just in case the big man is listening!We put into the Mosby tent site which turned out to be a beautiful site - with flat ground, benches and a pristine spring nearby...and we had the entire site to ourselves to boot.Just to end what was a tough day of dealing with foot and knee issues, as I was getting into my tent the zipper on my vestibule broke! Crap! Greenie and I did some zipper surgery on it and it is working - but I will have to use the other door on my tent until I can send it back to have it fixed.
Date: 2014-05-20
From: Mosby primitive tent site

To: Myron Glaser Cabin
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: overcast clouds

So today was supposed to be a short day, but when we hit our original destination for the day at 12.9 miles at a tent site after Dicks Dome shelter, Greenie and I decided to keep going and camp when we found a good spot...which never came until we hit the Myron Glaser Cabin.Sky Meadows state park was beautiful but you cannot camp there at all.We hoped we could find something near Ashby Gap...but nope!Pressing on we pulled off at the Myron Glaser cabin side trail hoping we could find a place to tent - but better yet we had a farmers porch complete with a picnic table and swinging bench suspended from the overhead beams. The cabin - and privy (who pad locks a privy??) were both locked up tight as a drum, but we had the porch all to ourselves and aside from the cold drinks and ice cream Greenie was craving (that were not there) we could not ask for more.My foot has been problematic all day and I have had to drain the fluid building under the nail (ugh!). My left knee has been sore most of the day with the IT band acting up and tightness even on the uphill climbs. I have been changing my socks often to keep my feet dry to keep the blister under control and taking vitamin "I" to keep my knee reasonably comfortable. Along the way today we passed through a section called the "Trillium Trail", a bird watchers paradise. We saw a form of a towhee which I had not seen before and literally fields of Trillium that seemed to go on for ever. There were wildflowers abundant today - more than I can name or identify but they were prolific and beautiful. We bedded down for the night in comfort and exhaustion from a day that turned out to be much longer than either of us had expected. 49 miles in three days - much more than I had planned but at least we have only about 12 miles to do tomorrow (and the "roller coaster") into Bears Den.
Date: 2014-05-21
From: Myron Glaser Cabin

To: Bears Den Hostel
Miles today: 12.0

We slept in a bit this morning and were slow to get out of camp putting us on the trail by about 7:45 AM.We passed the Rod Hollow Shelter about 2 miles north of where we camped and kept walking. Shortly there after we entered the "roller coaster" - a series of about 7 mountains in about as many miles....or so it seemed. The first two climbs were fairly big and as the day wore on, the ups and downs took a toll on me. My legs had not much get-up and go, but we pressed on.Today was also MUCH more humid than any day so far on this trip and there is a chance of thunderstorms and hail tonight, so we are glad we will be staying in the hostel. I was so sweated up when we arrived at the hostel I did not have a dry spot on anything on my body.Greenie and I saw another Scarlet Tanager today while eating lunch at the Sam Moore shelter. We meet a group of three section hikers that ended up at Bears Den tonight too. Flossie and Gray Squirrel are also here as are the three brothers we met on our first day.The hikers special is $30 which includes a bunk, shower, laundry, pizza, soda and a pint of Ben and Jerry's to boot.Tomorrow we will get dropped off about 14 miles north and hike back to the hostel so we can slack-pack and give my knee a break by only carrying what we need for the day. The change of plans will only give us about 6 miles into Harpers Ferry on Friday so we will end up with almost two days off - a much needed break for me.All is good - clean clothes, a real bed, a shower and a stomach full of pizza - oh for the simple things in life!
Date: 2014-05-22
From: Keys Gap, WV

To: Bears Den Hostel
Miles today: 14.1

Greenie and I opted to slackpack back to Bears Den today to take it easy on my knee and give us only about six miles into Harpers Ferry on Friday.We caught a ride from the Hostel and was on the trail heading southbound at about 8:15 AM this morning. The trail was nice and easy with a smooth treadway and only gradual elevation change. We passed several of the other hikers we had spent the last few days with as we made our way south.There were all sorts of flower today, some of which I have never seen before. When I get home I will be able to upload the photos and add them to my journal.We stopped at a beautiful vista for a break overlooking sprawling farmlands below in the valley. For the most part, the day was cool and breezy, but as we neared 10:00 we could feel the heat building and in spots we were below the ridge line and were out of the breeze so the temps were oppressive at times.We stopped at a spring at lunch and sat with our feet dangling in the cold flow of the stream coming out of the ground. Truly a beautiful spot.But the news of the day was after lunch - my knee flared up so badly I could hardly walk a step without pain, and at times I was lucky if I was going even one mile per hour. It became clear that today would be my last day on the trail this trip and at Snickers gap, I could go no further. Greenie hiked the last quarter mile to get a ride back to the trail head to give me a ride back to the hostel.So our plans now are to head over to Harpers Ferry tomorrow via a ride from the Bears Den folks, meet my Sister and Mom who were going to meet us in Harpers anyhow and catch a ride back up north to my car and head home on Saturday. I will have to get my knee checked out when I get home, but my guess is that it is plain and simple overuse in a short period of time. I will want to be sure that nothing mechanical is wrong with it just in case.We did 75.3 miles in five days, nothing to sneeze at, but next time out we will start off with much shorter miles to break into the trail and gain our trail legs.
Date: 2014-05-29
From: Home

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0

So Greenie and I got back up north on Saturday last week so I can address my left knee. The pain I had on the trail has subsided as expected with some rest, but it is still stiff and has some finger point tenderness.I have an MRI scheduled for tomorrow so I will find out if I did anything structurally to it....hopefully not. One surgery in a twelve month period is enough for anyone and I already owe my wife in epic proportions from the last one.Ahead we still have plans to finish the Long trail and our last 50 miles of the northern end of the trail - so I will need to get myself back into hiking condition after I get the results from the MRI assuming it is all clear.All I can think of was a quote from AWOL's book about those hikers that were too aggressive out of the box at Springer - I think he said "too fast, too soon, too far" - and now I know what he meant. I think in my enthusiasm to get back on the trail this year I forgot to temper my expectations (and miles) and work back into the trail after my surgery. 75 miles in five days is a 105 mile week pace and that is too damn fast. I should know better.Dumb, Dumb, Dumb.......More to come after I see the results next week
Date: 2014-05-30
From: Home

To: home
Miles today: 0.0

So I got the MRI results over the weekend and in all it is not bad news. First of all there is no evidence of meniscus or ligament damage - which was my biggest fear. A structural injury would be devastating at this point in time.I do have tendinitis where the Quad attaches at the knee and IT band syndrome (which I have had in the past). There is evidence of swelling in and around the area of discomfort. Bottom line is I have to do more stretching, further strengthen my quad and rest/ice the knee along with a regimen of anti-inflammatory drugs to address the swelling. Clearly I did too much, too soon, too fast - and I will need to take it slow as I rehab to allow for proper healing so I don't end up in a repetitive cycle of improving and then re-injuring it by pushing it. Cross training should help to avoid repetitive motion injury.So I will rehab this as best I can keeping in mind that I plan to finish the LT (50 miles) in just over five weeks from now. I have been talking to Greenie and Wingman about going back down south in October to do the section we skipped - time will tell if that will play out or not.
Date: 2014-10-11
From: Home

To: Waynesboro, PA
Miles today: 0.0

Greenie and I drove down to Waynesboro today to finish the 65 miles we "stranded" back in May when we stopped hiking at Keys Gap in WV. We will slack pack a couple of days before hitting the trail to backpack into Harpers Ferry. Weather looks spotty, but we cannot wait to get on the trail.
Date: 2014-10-12
From: Caledonia State Park

To: Old Forge Park/Antietam Shelter
Miles today: 10.8

Greenie and I had a lovely breakfast at Burgundy Lane this morning and were up and out to have us on the trail at 8:50AM. Dave, one of the owners of the B&B helped us with the logistics today as will he for the next couple of days.We walked the short distance to the trail from the parking lot at Caledonia and turned south. It was a little cool this morning, so we stopped briefly to put on our hats and gloves. The trail was easy going and even with a 1,000 foot climb to the high point of today's hike, the elevation change over the distance was easy going. We met a scout group around the side trail to Rocky Mountain shelters. The lead scout was calling to the rest of the group "thru hikers" over and over. I felt a little awkward at this as we are section hikers and were slack packing no less.A short distance later a sound from behind startled me, which turned out to be a group of folks out for a run. They scared the crap out of me and I let off a quick Holy Sh@! As I spun around to see what the sound was.We passed a group of day hikers going north and several NOBO backpackers who were likely out for the weekend.We stopped at Chimney Rocks for lunch, and then hiked on.We took a short stop at Tumbling Run shelters which were amazing, and then continued on to Old Forge Park where we left my car.Greenie and I drove to High Rock before coming back to the B&B. It is a shame all of the graffiti up there. Some folks have no respect.Tomorrow we will go a little further than today so we have a shorter day on Tuesday. The weather looks to be changing and we want to put into a shelter Tuesday night due to a chance of thunderstorms.
Date: 2014-10-13
From: Raven Rock Road

To: Old Forge Park/Antietam shelter
Miles today: 13.0

We adjusted our day today to tack on extra miles as we are flipping our hike around to adjust to severe weather expected for Wednesday. Dave dropped Greenie and I off at Raven Rock Road at 8:30 where we began our hike northward to where we finished yesterday. We had an initial climb past some large rock formations at Raven Rock as we worked our way up to just below High Rock.The trail was easy until we reached the height of the land where it turned rocky. On our way north we met a couple named Gun Powder and Flint who are finishing their flip-flop thru hike which they will finish at the Virginia line. Just before meeting Gun Powder and Flint we came to an unusual large round pit that was reinforced with stone around the exterior perimeter. We surmised it to be some form of a fortification from the Civil War.We passed Penn-Mar park and the Mason-Dixon line where we signed the trail register and took some pictures. We had a stiff climb up toward PA 16 which was the only really challenging climb of the day. At noon, we were not hungry so we opted to push on past a nice spring and tenting spot along the trail to Deer Lick shelters for lunch.After lunch as we were hiking down a slope, we heard some dogs barking off in the woods. I thought there was a house in the direction of the barking. ..but all of a sudden a "herd" of 12 small dogs the size of beagles came woofing down the slope to greet us. It was the funniest sight I have ever seen on the trail. The owner off in the woods called the dogs, and as oddly as they appeared the retreated back up the hill.We reached the car by 2:00 and as we headed back to Waynesboro it started tk rain for the first time today.Tomorrow we wil be driven to a point down in MD where we will hike 17 miles into Harpers Ferry. Wednesday we will slack pack only 5.6 miles from Keys Gap back to Harpers Ferry where thunderstorms could be an issue by mid-day. On Thursday we will get dropped back where we will start tomorrow and hike back north to Raven Rock Road. A crazy way to route this trip, but hiking in thunderstorms is not on my to-do list.So Pennsylvania is officially complete. After this we will officially be working on the southern states!
Date: 2014-10-14
From: Reno Monument Road

To: Harpers Ferry
Miles today: 17.1

Dave dropped us at Reno Monument road at about 8:30 this morning as it was the closest access point to the trail where we would have started Thursday had we not adjusted our plans due to the weather. The trail was easy going in terms of elevation change today with the only real climb early in the day. We were in the clouds for a bit in the morning, and the trees were dripping from the moisture in the air. We never had to put on our rain gear today and in fact the sun came out late in the day. It was almost too warm and very humid all day.We reached Gathland Park after 10:00 where we collected water from the faucet at the park. Small biting flies swarmed us so we kept our stop brief.We reached the Ed Gravely Shelter just after noon, hitting our "10 (miles) by 12:00". The shelter is really cool with a loft but was infested with stink bugs so the place scored high on the bug creep factor.We stopped at Weaverton Cliffs which had a spectacular view of the Potomac river. On the way down from the cliffs we met the first people we saw all day with the exception of some cyclists passing through back at Gathland Park.The trail runs for a few miles on the C&O tow path along an old canal once used to tow barges through to avoid the rapids on the river. We saw many turtles hanging out on logs.Once in Harpers Ferry we stopped at the ATC office to register as section hikers doing the entire AT. It was really cool to have our picture taken and entered in the ATC book. We are at the Tea Horse hostel tonight and will have a "nearo" tomorrow having only 5.6 miles to do from Keys Gap back into Harpers. With the bad weather due tomorrow we will work the hike in based on when it looks the safest to do so.
Date: 2014-10-15
From: Keys Gap, WV

To: Harpers Ferry
Miles today: 5.6
Weather: clear sky

While it was not raining when we got up this morning, it was pouring like crazy by 8:00.We had a nice breakfast of home made waffles, the Tea Horse Hostel specialty, with lots of coffee. Gun Powder and Flint, the two south bound "flip-floppers" we met a couple of days ago - and shared a bunk room with us last night, hit the trail sometime after 8:00 to reach Bears Den today. Greenie and I hung around until 9:30 when we decided to get our miles out of the way this morning. Laurel, the hostel owner dropped us off at Keys Gap before 10:00 just as the rain started to pick up again. As we were getting out of the car, she told us of some civil war landmarks to watch for as we approached Harpers Ferry.Within minutes of getting on the trail we ran into Gun Powder and Flint heading south. We spoke for a few seconds, wished them the best, and continued on north.The hike was uneventful, seeing only a flock of black birds "flowing" down the trail ahead of us and a large tree near the trail fall in the woods.As we made our way down toward the Shenandoah river we saw the civil war era trench that was dug to facilitate dragging cannons up the side of the mountain to the heights above the river.we passed a group of hikers hanging out under the US 34 bridge to stay out of the rain. We crossed the bridge over the Shenandoah in the pouring rain and re-entered the woods on the other side of the river.Back at the hostel we showered and got changed into dry clothing and headed out for lunch.This afternoon we did mundane things like laundry in preparation for getting back on the trail tomorrow morning.Today we finished another state - West Virginia. Over the next two days we will finish Maryland, the third state completed on this trip and our 9th state in total.
Date: 2014-10-17
From: Ensign Cowell Shelter

To: Raven Rock Road
Miles today: 3.9

I woke up at about 1:00 in the morning and could not believe that it was only that hour of the night. I slept fairly well, but a large tree that fell nearby made me nervous that a tree might do the same closer to where we camped. The rain this week caused a number of dead trees to drop along the trail, including the one we saw come down as we approached Harpers Ferry from the south.At 5:30 AM I could hear Greenie stirring, and new that we would be up and moving before it was light. At 6:30 I started packing my gear inside my tent.We were up, fed and out before 8:00. There were a couple of section hikers that were at the shelter that I spoke to briefly before we left. Apparently the locals had packed up and gone home after dark, which explains why it got so quiet after we bedded down. The two section hikers were on their very first section hike and commented on the ups and downs north of us. I know that given more miles under their feet they will view terrain like that as rolling and easy.We passed under some power lines and then into some large and recently hayed fields. One of the fields had been mowed and tufted but not bailed yet.We passed a man and a woman doing a section hike who we stopped and spoke to briefly and then moved on.We crossed two streams and just as we walked up to Raven Rock Road, David was just pulling up. Our timing could not have been any better!So with this trip we now can cross off Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia. We will be hiking in the south from here on until we finish the lower part of the trail and then jump back up to Maine to finish the trail. We are not certain what our plans are for 2015, but we do know that we want to get on the trail SOBO and just walk until we decide to stop vs have to be somewhere by a certain date.
Date: 2015-01-30
From: Home

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0

So Greenie and I are mapped out for our first 146+ miles on the AT starting in late May. We decided that we would continue doing our section hikes moving NOBO as to be able to mingle in with the thru-hiking crowd. We have so enjoyed meeting and hiking in and around other hikers which has allowed us to make some really great connections and friends.Wingman is going to join us this year, so I am looking forward to that. I have not backpacked with him since the year we finished NJ and then did up in Maine from the NH/ME border up to Rangeley. We were laughing the other night about "Whack and Hack" the "Machete brothers" we met at Bald Pate shelter up in Maine. Between the huge machete's they carried and the biggest jar of Vaseline and cotton balls for starting fires I have ever seen on the trail...... it all makes for great memories. You never know who you will meet on the trail, that's for sure.We will pace ourselves better this time and not be too aggressive out of the box. My hamstring repair is behind me now and will be 1 year, 8 months in my past when we hit the trail this year but I don't want to blow myself out like I did last May. We will meter the miles in the first few days by slackpacking and then keeping the miles down until we "harden off" a little.Greenie and I also plan to get back up to Maine in the fall and button up the short section between Caratunk and Monson leaving the 100 mile wilderness until we finish everything south. We will not complete a state this year given the size of VA, but we will certainly put a good dent in it.I start my training for this year in earnest next week - and while I have been doing things to try to keep my "edge", I felt it better to give my body a break for a change. I will say that I feel so much better (and hurt less) when I work out/train, but if I want my legs and feet to hold up for the long run I cannot keep beating myself day in and day out over years and expect to have anything left when I am older. I still think at the end of the day I will wear out before I rust out!