morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-06-28
From: Shelter

To: Bear Den Hostel
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Big day today...not necessarily in terms of miles, but in milestones! At about 3 pm today I stepped over the 1,000 mile mark which is located in the middle of infamous "The Roller Coaster".You know why they call it The Roller Coaster, yup, it's because of the ups and downs that the trail takes in the 13.5 stretch. It's Virginia's parting shot to thru-hikers as West Virginia is near!And by parting shot I mean ups and downs that are not only steep, but are laced with many rocks the size of soccer balls. Think feet beating rocks....and it went on and on! But there was relief by way of the Bear Den hostel and trail magic which brought incredible delight.Tomorrow I say good bye to Virginia and hello to West Virginia and the town of Harper's Ferry. I set a goal to be in Harper's no later than the 30th and it looks like I will make it !!
Date: 2016-06-29
From: Bear Den Hostel

To: Harper's Ferry
Miles today: 21.0
Weather: clear sky

Yesterday I said good bye to Virginia as I stepped into West Virginia (the 5th state along the AT). More importantly I put behind The Roller Coaster which meant easier mobility as the trail gave way to Harper's Ferry. I hiked alone all of the 21 plus miles that I did yesterday, so when I ran into Odie and Tracie heading southbound it made my day! Odie does the AT Hikers Yearbook and I think he is a cool dude. Tracie is as good as they get as well. We chatted for a few minutes and went on.Although the end of The Roller Coaster meant the trail was more level, the ankle crushing rocks remained. I guess this is a way to get into shape for the infamous rocks in PA?I stopped at the David Lesser shelter midday. I was out of energy and I needed water. Weather Or Not was there. The spring was .25 miles down a steep hill, but the side journey was required....springs are few and far between now.After fetching my water I ate some food and visited with Weather Or Not. He is about my age and he was talking about low energy. Every once in a while I feel drained, but a little rest, water, food and Ibuprofen seems to help. He was staying at the shelter, I gathered my stuff and bolted.My goal was Harper's Ferry and I put my earphones on and hot play and the IPod. Phish, Yes, Robert Earl Keen, Grateful Dead and Allmans gave me the push I needed to do the 8 more miles into Harper's Ferry. An added bonus was the sighting of several deer and even a turkey that hauled ass when he heard my singing to the music. When I finally arrived at Harper's Ferry it was 7:15 and the ATC was closed. I will go down there this morning and get my picture taken. All through hikers stop at the ATC to get their pictures taken at the unofficial halfway mark of Harpers Ferry.With the ATC being closed I did the next best thing and went to a bar. When looking for fellow hikers, always look in a place that peddles beer. At this particular bar I found Alastair, Chia Pet, Mogli and Blossom. They appeared to already have had several buckets of beer. At another table was Jack rabbit and his parents.I sat with the crew and ordered two buckets of beer and we got caught up on trail Gossip and things. The beer was cold we had some cheap cigars and some good laughs.At Closing time I called the Teahorse hostel and reserved a bunk for the night. The combination of 21+ miles in one day and a handful of beers made for a very early night once I got to the hostel. I am heading to ATC now and then moving into Maryland. Kelly will pick me up tomorrow and we will enjoy a few days together.
Date: 2016-07-06
From: Raven Rock Shelter

To: Pine Grove Furnace State Park
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: broken clouds

Update. Well, I am OFFICIALLY half way through this kick ass journey. I am resting tonight at a very cool hostel called the Iron Mountain Hostel in Pine Grove Furnace State Park in PA. It was very hot today. Despite the heat we made 20 miles! Along the way we took pictures of the official half-way mark.On the trail today was Alastair, C Sharp, Wallet, Eagle, Puppy Mill, Inky and his girlfriend (I just met them and I can not remover her trail name). We lost Feather after breaking camp this am and we have no clue where he ended up. Add to the list of characters today Lord Bearclaw and his sword!The two exciting things today Serra rattle snake and cookers full of beer and steaks.First the rattler. Alastair and I were in deep walking midday and pontificating trail stuff when I stepped down and about on a big timber rattler! It immediately started to rattle and made a move to strike. I hauled ass and told Alastair to get back!I won't lie, it startled me. The thing was it would not budge so we made signs in the dirt indicating there was a rattler (we knew Inky and Bearclaw were not too far from us and we wanted no surprises). As Alastair made a sign out of sticks I tried to chase the coiled serpent away, but it did not move.We ran into Lord Bearclaw and Inky at a stream as we filled water. They saw our signs and saw the snake!!! In the middle of the trail! They too had a tough time navigating around this beast which I guess was 6 feet long. This was a big snake!The coolers. AT hikers get accustomed to coolers sitting on the trail set there as trail magic. Typically they have Gatorade, cokes or beer. Many times it's a buzz kill when the lid is lifted and they are already emptied by other hikers.This afternoon I was hiking behind Alastair about 100 yards. I crossed a gravel road and spotted two coolers just off the trail in the bushes. Naturally I investigated. Jackpot... This coolers was filled to the rim with ice and very cold beer! I hollered fairly loud. Loud enough for Alastair to come back and suggest I look in the other cooler. I was thinking... How can this get better?Inside the second cooler was ice and steaks. Oh no. No one would leave uncooked steaks for hikers. We theorized these were not trail magic coolers and a part of someone's camp out. We also saw there was a bag of firewood further suggesting this booty was not left for us. So we took the high road and left it all..with exception of s few ice cubes from the beer cooler. The oddest thing was no one behind us saw the coolers?? Weird.
Date: 2016-07-12
From: Pine Grove Furnace State Park

To: PA Rocks
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: scattered clouds

And the crowd screams out for another blog entry and they get it!!!! Wow, it seems like the days lately are filled with many many high points, some low points and several AT landmarks.First off, today I found myself resting at mike market 1,189. This is significant as there are 2,189 miles to the AT this year...I have less than 1,000 miles to go!Pennsylvania has been relatively easy so far! Even the infamous Pennsylvania (Rocksylvania) rocks have not been too brutal (yet). I hiked past the 501 shelter at 5:00 pm tonight. The next several miles all the way to Port Clinton are supposed to be real rocky so tomorrow may be a different story.Since I last posted I hiked through Boiling Springs, PA. I would say this was the nicest town the trail ran through so far. I came into Boiling Springs on a low as I was out of water and I fell 5 miles short of getting there the previous night. My spirits were lifted when I hiked into the Cafe 101 in town and had a great breakfast and a warm welcome from other patrons. I also stayed in the Doyle hostel in Duncannon, PA. The Doyle is an old hotel that was once owned and operated by Anhauser Busch. Evidently the folks that bring us Budweiser took a venture into the hotel business many years ago. The Doyle is the last one that is operating ... All others are gone or abandoned.The Doyle looks old and feels old and is old. Despite a well worn feel to it, it's a must stop for hikers. Did I mention there is a bar in it? A fairly big crowd was there when I hiked in including Sunset, Texas Hippie, Alastair, blossom, mogley and Wallet. My new Osprey Exos backpack was waiting there and I did the change out right there in the bar.Last night we jumped off the trail and hiked into the town of Lickdale for a cold drink. We were lucky enough to catch a hitch easy enough. When we were dropped off another car pulled up and we were offered a place to stay in Doc's camper. Doc is a trail angel and an interesting dude. He was a combat medic in Vietnam in 68 and 69. He did not tell us why he put hikers up, but I got the sense he liked the company. I hit it off with Doc as he had to old Ford tractors at his place like the kind Kelly and I have at our farm. The generosity of people I have met on this journey is humbling.
Date: 2016-08-24
From: Inn at Long Trail

To: The Presidentials
Miles today: 100.0
Weather: broken clouds

Into the Presidentials of The Whites in a few moments. I am still going strong. The climb up Moosilauke was not hard. Kinsman slapped me around. I tested yesterday. Today Sky, Muwin and Hizenburg will climb Lafayette. All indicators suggest that it's a beast!!! Here we go!!!
Date: 2016-09-10
From: The Presidentials

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: mist

First an apology to my followers. My updates on here have fallen way behind. I am currently in the Farm House Hostel in Rangeley, Maine and 220 miles from the northern terminus of the AT. There are many hikers in the area. It seems as if many are targeting a completion date on it around the end of September (which is 20 days away). I had to say goodbye to Sky, Muwin and Heizenburg the other day as their schedules to complete are shorter. This found me hiking alone out of Andover, Maine but I was not alone long as I soon met up with multiple familiar hikers.The attitude is positive although almost all hikers are admitting to feeling worn down. Our average daily miles have been low and the southern Maine terrain challenging.Yesterday as we hiked towards Rangeley an impromptu hiker sit-in occurred by a lake. Earlier in the hike one would have never seen a group of 10 hikers sitting around mid-day talking about their hike, but the time seemed right. Participating in the conversation was Hey Girl, Hatchet, DOC (Dude in Couch), Works Hard, Limey and a few others. The focus now is the 100 mile wilderness which is quickly approaching. We are finding out from southbounders that it's not exactly wildnerrness and rumors if trail magic have even circulating.Speaking of trail magic we stumbled into a great set up yesterday where a Maine couple (Bruce and Teddy) were cooking hamburgers and hot dogs on a road. This was especially nice as I was hungry and low on food. I ate two hamburgers, a hot dog and two tomatoes!!As I sit here and type this I am also visiting with Trek! Trek has flip flopped and is heading south. Trek was one of the first hikers I met in Georgia back at Hawk Mountain shelter when I started on April 5th. It is good to see him!
Date: 2016-09-19
From: The Presidentials

To: Monson, Maine
Miles today: 10.0

I am chilling in Monson, Maine at Shaw's Hiker Hostel. The next step I take onto the AT will be into the 100 mile wilderness. I have 115 miles left to finish.With such a short distance to hike I decided to double zero here and rest my knees and visit with old friends and meet new ones. The 100 mile wilderness leads up to Mt. Katahdin and the northern terminus of the AT. We have been told not to underestimate this section. That being the case I spent most of the day going over my supplies and packing my backpack for the grand finale. I have been warned there is little reception in the wilderness so my updates may be sporadic. I will attempt to keep everyone up to speed on my summit day (goal is Sept 28). Kelly is coming on the 29th to Millenocket/Baxter State Park to get me. I am very fortunate to have such a positive spouse that has been behind my journey the entire way. Thank you Kelly!Katahdin here we come!!!
Date: 2016-09-28
From: Monson, Maine

To: Katahdin
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: broken clouds

Update...on September 28th I summited Katahdin and completed my 2,189.1 journey. To say the hike was epic would be an understatement. I do wish I was able to keep up with daily blog entries, but that did not happen.I summited on a beautiful day with several other thru-hikers. At the summit I put on a bathrobe that Kelly had sent me and went into "full Dude" mode for the summit picture.
Date: 2015-11-26
To: Springer or Maine?
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Busy season for my job begins when I should be hitting the trail in March/April. That's when we have to begin extracting our honey crop of orange blossom honey from our bees. At this point I've already decided to recruit my wife and my sister to help extract honey while I and my father in law harvest it. Hopefully with all of us working together we can finish our work sooner than usual and start our hike at Springer Mountain, otherwise if we must begin later than desired I'm considering starting in Maine.It'll be my wife, my sister, and myself...oh and my sister's dog too.We all have most of our gear and all that's left is the rest of our clothing and our food. My wife and I hiked the approach trail in October with 55-65 lbs and that was fun to the un-max. That's why I've decided to go lightweight this time and I can't wait to try it out. I really am hoping to enjoy the trail instead of droll along in misery like I did in October. More later...end log.
Date: 2015-11-27
From: Springer or Maine?

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

So I just finished reading 'the trail life' by Julie Urbanski. It's her tale of the PCT and the mental/emotional battle that she fought as she faced her own self. It's a great book for mind preparation. I highly recommend it if you are the type of person who found out that you aren't who you thought you were. I've just started her next book about taking on the Appalachian trail. Can't wait to see the challenges and changes she takes on. Experiences like hers are the kind that makes me hunger for the ' best of times and the worst of times. ' I can't wait to see who I become as the trail experience refines the me sitting here today.I wish that I had a starting date for the trail...oh well.We're just beginning to harvest our fall honey crop. It's a blend of goldenrod, Spanish needle, Brazilian pepper tree and Melaleuca tree, where tea tree oil comes from. Our next crop begins in the early spring, orange blossom, then...onto the trail. End log.
Date: 2015-11-28
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

So I opted to camp out last night on black Friday, just like REI encouraged. I got to test my sleeping pad, a closed-cell foam pad. I'll be getting something else. I am a side sleeper so my bony hips were in pain. I'm gonna either go with a therm-a-rest air pad or a klymit air pad. Keeping in mind weight and compressed packing size.I also got to test out my Kelty trail bivy and my 2-person Kelty range tarp. I really liked them both. Condensation built up in the tarp of course but it was never dripping. And the bivy kept me warm using just my wool blanket (I slept in the yard.) The only other thing I did not like was our annoying rooster @ 2am. He must be part werewolf because the only thing out was the moon.
Date: 2015-11-29
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

So I gave it another go last night camping in the yard. The were-rooster didn't bother me this time and I actually got some sleep. This time however the mosquitoes gave me a chance to try out the bug netting on my kelty bivy. It was great...mosquitoes 0 me 1. Also, while I was roughing it last night I found online, the trail that my wife and I would like to hike in 2017: Via Francigena. It's a pilgrimage trail about 1500 miles long from Canturbury, England to Rome, Italy. What!?This really appeals to us because we studied abroad in Florence, Italy for our 2009, 2010 school year and we have always wanted to return because we didn't value our time there as much as we should have.Ciao for now!Check it out for yourself.
Date: 2015-11-30
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

The more trail books I read, the more excited I get. But what's odd is that all of the struggles I read about are quite daunting. However, I shall not be deterred. It's hard to imagine hiking for 6 months. I can't wait. I keep looking for more information about the via francigena, possibly the European version of the Appalachian trail. More people attempt the AT than the via francigena, pronounced 'vee-a Fran-chee-ja-na' emphasis on the 'chee'.Not quite as long as the AT. My wife told my sister about it and she already wants to go with us in 2017.
Date: 2015-12-01
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Well my sister, who is also going with us in the spring, finally got her kelty tent for she and her dog. She's waiting on her sleeping bag to arrive in the mail. She has been showing me her gear as she gets it and I have a sneaky feeling that she's going to be o' wee bit overweight. HOWEVER, I have learned that the trail has a way of teaching everyone what's important and what's not. When I did the approach trail everything I took was completely useful, but that did not mean that I actually used it. Over the next 3 days I shaved weight from my pack as I decided what was important and what wasn't. That experience is why I have decided on doing the Appalachian trail lightweight. I want to be an ultimate hiker rather than an ultimate camper, as Andrew Skurka would say.
Date: 2015-12-08
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Okay so right now in central Florida you can occasionally smell Orange blossom wafting in the breeze. Our honeybees are loving it BUT they're not supposed to bloom for another 2 1/2 months. It's too warm in Florida and that's why the trees are confused. The problem is if they bloom and then we suddenly have freezing temperatures then the blossoms will die and there goes our Orange crop of honey.Why is that a big deal? Well the honey pays for the hike! Yikes!!Here's hoping for a balanced and timely bloom...Orange blossom is a very good honey but my favorite Florida honey is palmetto, especially when it blooms at the same time as gallberry. It tastes like a multi-fruit honey mixed with the best blueberries you have ever tasted. I wonder if anyone has ever seen wild honeybee colonies on the trail?Anyway, I'm looking forward to orange blossom to bloom but I'm especially looking forward to having it all harvested so we can hit the trail!
Date: 2015-12-09
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

So I received my first encouragement from Hummingbird Ellie, via the guest book today. She's someone who's been on the trail and plans on going back soon. She had great advice about taking your time hiking during inclement weather to avoid unnecessary injury and also to hike light, which in my opinion is another way to avoid injury. Thanks again Hummingbird...Also, just ordered my trail hat! I'm real excited about that because it's an Australian made outback style hat. Made of a lightweight leather, vent holes, uv and water resistant made by Jacaru. It's coming from...you guessed it, Australia! Which means it could take a while to get here in Florida. Boo.I also just sold my Gregory pack online. Great pack, comfortable, holds everything and the kitchen sink but not my cup of tea. I used it on the approach trail. The pack itself is just over 6 lbs. Whoa. Check out my gear list to see what I'm using instead.Later...
Date: 2015-12-10
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

So here's our plan for zero days. We'll be zero day-ing about once every 7 days on the trail rather than in town. Hopefully it'll be near a water source and ideally at a shelter but if not at a shelter that's okay.The idea is to rest, relax, rejuvenate and simply enjoy being. Even our meals will be simple, something that doesn't need cooked. I think the worst and possibly most boring zero days will be the cold/rainy ones. Can one learn to enjoy those days too? You can always play pick up sticks in the woods.
Date: 2015-12-12
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

So my sister finally got her big agnes sleeping bag yesterday. It's 600 fill, rectangular in shape for her and her dog, and just over 3 lbs. We went through her hygiene and first aid kits together and I suggested how she could reduce weight and bulk. The amount of room she saved will make room for her sleeping bag to go inside her pack. We're going to be having a pre-trip meeting soon to talk about our expectations, concerns, hopes, doubts and whatever else about the trail. This way we'll see what page each of us are on and hopefully create a hike that will go more smoothly otherwise had we just gone all Willy nilly. After our meeting we're going to play a new Appalachian trail game I bought on Amazon. Woo hoo!
Date: 2015-12-15
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

So motivation must be the key to finishing or conquering anything. I wish when we were feeling down and defeated that a magical motivational soundtrack started playing out of nowhere. Our brow would knit, our fists would clench, a grin would appear on our face and we would scream to the heavens in a voice that levels all opposing forces. Yeah, that would be cool.I like the tiger song by Katy Perry. The end.
Date: 2016-02-17
From: Maine

To: Springer
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Well it's officially official, we're hiking southbound in June. Our beekeeping duties require us to work at the same time nobos are heading out and we have to sell our honey crop to finish our trail preparation and obligatory stupid bills. But yay! Southbound sounds very exciting and even though it delays the trail a little longer, southbound suits us just fine.
Date: 2016-04-03
From: Maine

To: Maine
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Well, fifty more days. We are wrapping up the last of our meals, clothing and gear. Arrangements and reservations have been made for getting to Maine. Yah willing we'll begin climbing Katahdin June 1st. Our pack base weights are less than ten pounds each. Much better than our 70 lb packs lugged over the approach trail last fall.
Date: 2016-04-04
From: Maine

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

So, today we harvested the first of our orange blossom honey crop!! The bloom has been going strong for two weeks now and will hopefully go for another week or two. Our goal is to finish the orange harvest and sell a couple of barrels before palmetto starts to bloom (my favorite Florida honey). Then we'll hopefully be set financially from our on-trail expenses. I filled bubble tea straws with honey for our oatmeal on the trail. Yum!I'll soon be posting more detailed information about our gear/weight for anyone interested.
Date: 2016-04-09
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

So we have the first 200 miles of food drops boxed and ready to go in flat rate boxes. It's fun but it's also a lot of work too!And, we got our tarp tent today in the mail!! It's the lunar duo explorer by Six Moon Designs. I got it seam sealed for an extra $30. Worth it. Also got a tube of seam sealer for the road and their large tyvek footprint. The shelter by itself weighs in at 2 lbs 10 ounces. Didn't have time to put it up though. It was a busy day at work. We had to check out our bees that are on watermelon pollination and it was a long trip.42 days till we head for Georgia...to catch a train to Maine.
Date: 2016-04-17
From: Katahdin

To: Maine
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

So I recently bought a new shelter, the Six Moon Designs Explorer Lunar Duo. It is replacing our first shelter we were going to use for the trail. It was the Kelty Range Tarp. Now don't get me wrong, it was a great tarp but we needed bivy sacks to use with its bottomless floor which made our shelter system almost 6 lbs!! Then I was like, 'i don't think so!' So in comes SMD. Weighing in at 2 lbs 10 ounces for two people. With its lightweight awesomeness, it has a bathtub floor, vertical mesh walls with high headroom (and I'm 6'4"), attached to a waterproof silnylon tarp and two large vestibule. Very easy to set up too.Well, we set it up tonight for the first time...it's a winner. And I can't wait to use it on the trail.Oh and it's mother-in-law approved