morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-05-29
From: Elkton, VA

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

After a lot of debate I ended up not being able to get a ride up to Katahdin so it was back to the trail in Elkton. I was a little dismayed because I wanted to run back into all the folks I had started with I thought it would have been cool to see them all again for a day. Dad couldn't get an extra day off and with how far the drive is there really wouldn't have been a way to get up there reasonably.I was rewarded the very first night back though with my first black bear sighting in the Shenandoahs. I set up a nice little stealth camp site and decided I'd throw up my tarp since it was looking a little ominous out and I didn't wanna get dumped on in the middle of the night. Didn't have enough time to get a fire going so I broke out the stove and got dinner all cooked up. Great first day back in the woods.
Date: 2015-05-30
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Got a late start to the day and struggled to get myself going this morning. Was moving slow and got passed by a few folks but I didn't mind much I had my music playing and was enjoying a nice stroll through the woods. There were a few day hikers out but it wasn't nearly as bad as last week was and I'm pretty glad I missed all those people though.I ran into my first ever bear cub this afternoon and he was the cutest thing in the whole world. I haven't been hiking with my poles so I can sneak right up on all the critters and it's been so worth it. I rounded a bend in the trail and looked up as the little cub was rooting around by a downed tree not more than 10 feet away from me. He looked up just as startled as me and when he realized I was a person started back pedaling then turned and ran.As cute as he was though I was a little worried about where momma bear was and started making as much noise as I could so nothing would sneak up on me. Hopefully I'll get to see a view more while I'm still out here it was really cool to see the little guy. I still had some more miles to get in so I took back off with an indescribable feeling of being connected with nature.Ended up getting about 20 miles in today and wound up on top of the mountain so I could hopefully catch the sunset. I got myself a fire going and started on dinner before it got dark. I was shocked when a deer walked right into my camp like he owned the place, it's kinda crazy how bold the critters are out here.
Date: 2015-05-31
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Had a decent start to the day and was feeling great all day except for one thing. My butt itched so freaking bad today and I just couldn't figure out why it was almost intolerable. Rain came in pretty early on but I didn't let it slow me down or get me down and I just kept trucking along.By late afternoon the rain and finally let up and the sun came back out again to dry everything out. Not too long after the sun was out I saw another black bear cub!! This one had hardly any hair on it though and looked really patchy don't know what that's about but was stoked to see a bear 3 days in a row!I stopped and ate lunch down by a little spring relaxing in the sun and enjoying some nice cold water. Got back on the trail and ran into a pretty good sized boy scout troop that was out for a few days in the park. It started getting pretty humid with the early morning rain and then the sun coming out, I figured there'd be a storm coming before too long and I moved with a quickness to get to the wayside.After I left the wayside beer-less and irritated from going at it the wrong way the storm clouds started rolling in. Not 5 minutes after I hit the trail the rain started coming and it was coming down pretty hard so i figured it'd stop soon. I was wrong, before I knew it there were puddles all over the trail and my inner 5 year old came out as I started splashing and stomping through every puddle. Next thing I knew the trail had gone from puddles to a river with little waterfalls all along the way.I couldn't believe how hard the rain was coming down at this point and it felt like a scene from "The Perfect Storm" and I started yelling at the sky "Is this all you've got?" "You can't stop me!" Then the rain started to hurt and I was confused at first till I realized it was hail that started falling. Before I knew it the rain had completely turned to hail the size of coco pebbles and stung like air soft pellets. I found myself covering the back of my head and neck trying to minimize the sharp stings of hail pelting me as I carried along the trail.The storm only lasted about 45 minutes but was one of the best I've ever hiked in and I still couldn't believe it had hailed like that. I hiked on about another hour before I got into camp and began to settle in. Once I'd gotten my stuff all laid out and about to start my fire a bunny rabbit and deer joined me in camp. The rabbi hanged out pretty much all night and left at dusk while the deer just stopped by t see what was going on and we had a scene out of an old comedy as he looked at me from one side of a tree to the other making me laugh out loud at his behavior.
Date: 2015-06-01
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Got up with the sun and managed to get myself all packed up in a reasonable amount of time. With a mouth full of seeds and my belly filled with rocket fuel I took off on the trail. There were some more really good stealth spots up the hill but I was pretty happy with mine since I'd gotten to see the deer and bunny last night.Hit the shelter by about 10 and the only reason I even stopped by was because I needed to get water from the spring. Saw a cooler sitting by the picnic table but assumed it was empty so I filled up on water and went to sign the shelter log. On the way out I figured I'd check it just to be sure and boy oh boy was I glad that I did. At first it looked filled with trash and I sorted through it all but at the bottom sat 4 hard ciders.I grabbed the ciders cracked one and took off up the trail to begin a day of booze cruising. I was feeling pretty good by lunch time and still had a beer left to go which I saved till I started sobering up. We can't be having any of that nonsense. Had a gorgeous view for lunch over looking the valley and thought it was perfect that I was drinking Virginia draft.All day I'd been thinking about how cool it'd be to see a bear that was actually on the trail itself. Sure enough by mid afternoon I ran into the Grande Finale of black bears. There was a momma and her 3 cubs walking down the trail in front of me. I couldn't believe what I was seeing it was like my dreams had all come true. Fearing the momma might get mad I started making noise so that they would go their own way and not bother me.She looked back at me like what are you doing there boy and guided her young ones off into the woods. I was in complete disbelief for the next few hours and honeslty couldn't believe what I'd seen. It broke me down to tears of complete joy and happiness in awe of the wild sight I'd just seen. I got into the shelter and just sat there for a minute taking in everything the Shenandoahs had to offer.I walked down what felt like an eternity to the water source and was dreading the climb back up. To my surprise when I get there a little group of day hikers had shown up and were getting ready to hit the water. They got lucky because they almost left their gear at the top of the hill and I recommended they take everything with them since there was a spot to reconnect to the AT. Got to a nice little stealth spot just outside of the park and settled down for the night
Date: 2015-06-02
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Woke up at about 6 when everyone else started getting up since I was camped out on the picnic table to avoid the wetness and the shelter that was leaking like a siv. I started chatting with the Mom of the Aussie Legs and she seemed like a cool lady for all of five seconds. She is the most judgmental person I've met out on the trail and wish more than anything I'd never even met her. Didn't understand at all what the trail is about or even have the right attitude and did nothing but try and put me down.Words can't even describe how happy I was to find out they'd barely seen any critters since Georgia and none in the Shenandoahs. I felt like they didn't deserve to especially if all you do is run your mouth about other people. Silence is key to interactions with the wildlife so I thought it was fitting for them to have seen hardly any kind of wildlife out on the trail. I took off rushed and trying to escape the rude criticisms of me and my hike.The hike today felt like a long one with rain falling all damn day and I just kept reliving the last couple bear filled days. I still can't believe how many bears I got to see these last couple days. The home mountains treated me right I saw so much wildlife in so few days I was really feeling honored and privileged. I got to the first road and was feeling fed up with all the rain I'd gotten the last few days and everything I owned was soaked.I decided I'd take a few days off since I was so close to home and the rain had no sign of letting up in the next couple days. My feet were getting so chaffed from the perpetual wetness that the tops of my toes were bleeding and it was becoming painful to walk. I decided I'd haul ass to Rt 50 where I'd have my little brother come and pick me up for a couple days of drying out.
Date: 2015-06-06
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

After drying out and letting my feet heal a bit it was time to get back out on the trail feeling refreshed and ready to get to Harper's. Brayton decided to come out for a few miles with me which was nice to catch up for a bit and kill a little time. He brought along his pup Luna who was loving being out in the woods with us and behaved herself pretty well. After a couple miles they decided it was time to part ways and head back to the car. I was a little bummed and had hoped they'd stay a little longer but they still had to get back to the car so I understood. They took off to the South and the car while I headed on North to Katahdin.These are my old stomping grounds so I already knew where I was gonna set up for the night. I ended up at setting up camp on top of Buzzards Rock nestled in between some of the outcropping with a nice view of the valley and sunset. A couple came up for a little bit to enjoy the sunset but didn't stay long and I had the whole area to myself, perfect way to end the day.
Date: 2015-06-07
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

The birds woke me up at about 5 and I just wasn't ready to be up yet so I went back to bed for about another 45 minutes. Got everything all packed up and I took off in under an hour, not bad at all. Threw in my earphones and was listening to music for the first part of the morning. Hit the thousand mile mark and stopped for a little break to think about how far I'd walked and everything I've been threw.When I hit Bear's den I stopped again and gave Mary a call as a bunch of day hikers went by me. We chatted for a bit and it was time to finish up the roller coaster. Water ended up being pretty scarce through the second part of the roller coaster so I was moving to get some H2O before it got too hot out.Ran into a SOBO Flip Flopper named Devo and we stopped to chat for a little bit since he was the first one I'd seen. I got to the Shelter and was shocked at how nice it was, they had Adirondack chairs and even a swing chair. The only downside was the near half mile walk to the spring that was all down hill. I drank a liter when I got there then took my sweet old time getting back up the hill.Before I knew it there was a family there with 2 big dogs making a lot of noise so at that point I was ready to head on out. Enjoyed the rest of the afternoon and found an awesome stealth site a couple miles out from Harpers Ferry. I'm meeting Mary there tomorrow and were gonna a couple days off and head into DC for a day.
Date: 2015-06-08
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Had an Awesome climb down from the top of the mountain looking at all the old Civil War fortifications and trenches along the way. I never realized how immense the these old trenches had been and I imagined back to when the hill would have been clear cut with just a couple trees dotting the land. I thought back to reading Red Badge of courage and frantic scenes of war and imaged the lines filled with men and cannons lining the ridge with artillery being brought up along with troops filling into their posts.
Date: 2015-06-10
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Took off this morning with a 6 pack of Blue Dawgs so I knew it was gonna be a good day. Got back on the trail already feeling losey gosey after one beer. I stopped by the ATC center and got my picture taken for the record book and stopped to chat with folks for a while. Got back on the trail and cracked another beer before I strolled into town and worked my way through the open houses enjoying the nice sunny day. I decided to grab some ice cream before I got back at it and settled on a scoop of cookies and cream and one cookie dough. Crossed the river to rest under the shade of the trees before I officially left the Valley and my home. I got on the C&O and crushed a few miles over the smooth flat terrain before I got back up into the mountains.I passed the first shelter and hiked a couple miles past it since I was still feeling good from all the beers I'd had and the sun would be up for another couple hours. I found a nice spot in between a couple of boulders and got a little fire going to fix up some dinner. By the time the sun was going down I was feeling like death, the beers had caught up to me and I pretty much puked myself to sleep.
Date: 2015-06-11
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Woke up a couple times during the night but didn't get moving till about 630 and was pleasently surprised to find I was hangover free. I got a pretty good nights sleep but with how much I threw up I thought for sure I'd have one. The hike today was pretty flat and gradual so I was cruising right along making good time and crushing miles.I stopped for some water and a break at the original Washington Monument which was a pretty cool old stone building. There was a nice view from the top and a couple cherry trees around that ol George must have missed. I ran into a few section hikers and then a bunch day hikers. It's kinda funny how the day hikers have seemed to come out of the woodwork for the nice weather and summer breezes.The critters up here must not be on protected lands because as soon as they see ya they take off like a shot from a gun. Mostly saw deer but nothing like when I was in the Shenandoahs and walked with a Doe and her Fawn for what felt like a half mile with them just a few feet ahead of me. Kinda miss how bold all the animals were down there and a little saddened by the fact their so scared of us out here.Didn't stop for lunch till later in the day when the sun was really starting to beat down so I ended up having a longer day out on the trail. I got t the shelter pretty early on and knew I had more in me and with the ease of the terrain decided to carry on. Had close to a 25 mile day and found myself a nice little spot creek side, only downside was how close I got the road.
Date: 2015-06-12
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Got up nice and early around 6 and didn't have any service so no phone calls today. Made my way to the next shelter down to stop for water and to sign the log book. I thought it was gonna be another easy flat day but there felt like there was a lot of up and down that kinda caught me off guard. Ended up I had the wrong set of maps so that didn't really help any and left me confused for most of the day. Saw a couple section hikers and then a bunch of thru hikers resting at the state park right next to the PA border and that's when I realized I had the wrong maps. I kicked it into overdrive at that point and was hauling ass the rest of the day trying to make up what I thought to be lost ground. I got to a little picnic area and stopped to rest my feet while I ate lunch and realized I was making really good time and wanted to keep it up.After escaping the heat for a bit I figured I'd run into some of the thru hikers I'd seen earlier but I didn't see another person the rest of the day. An afternoon storm came in and pretty much soaked me all the way through and before I knew it my feet were soaked to the bones. The rain made me walk even faster and I wound up doing about 30 miles today and was pretty shocked at how good my body was feeling. Ended up setting up camp on a picnic table at one of the state parks, just didn't have it in me to make it the extra couple miles to the official shelter.
Date: 2015-06-13
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

I woke up just before a storm rolled in last night and moved everything under the pavilion and so glad I did because not even 10 minutes later it started to pour. Got up at about before people started to show up for the day and got everything all packed up. I noticed the bath house and went to go take care of business when I saw they had hand dryers inside. So the only reasonable thing to do was take off my boots and socks to get those bad boys all dried out.I stood in there for over an hour drying out my footwear and getting my stuff all charged up. A couple people walked by and looked at me kinda funny but they don't know what it's like to hike in wet boots and socks. I got everything decently dried and decided I'd been there long enough so I threw my insoles back in and threw my pack on and took off for the trail.I was crushing miles again today and knocked out 10 in about 3 hours and 20 in 8 with my breaks and everything. I was pretty happy about it all considering yesterdays mileage. Today was the official half way point and I was also surprised to find out I was only about a week behind 4, 5, and a few other folks I'd been with in March.Today should have been the half Gallon Challenge but I arrived only to discover they only take cash. Guess it just wasn't meant to be I figured it'd probably just have been hell on my insides anyway so I wasn't missing much. There was a pretty cool swamp area just past the little park and I wish I would have gone through it a bit. Ended up with a 22 mile day and set up camp towards the top of the mountain at a nice little stealth spot.
Date: 2015-06-14
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Woke up with the sun once again and was feeling ready to conquer the day. I almost was tempted to go back walk through that little bog but I figure I can always come back. I was stoked when I say that harbinger come back again this morning and I took a boat load of photos of him. It made the disappointment of yesterday afternoon fly away and a subtle reminder the trips about the wild life and nature. Was a little surprised to see people going the opposite way this morning it looked like a couple from the city that were turned around and asked for directions back to the park. Some how they mistakenly got on the AT, the girl looked pissed and I couldn't help but laugh a little. The phone in her hand wasn't gonna do her much good out here.Hike got a little brutal towards the end of the day as the temps really started to soar and I was working my way through the maze. The terrain was amazing and there was some fun little scrambles but the heat was killer and the water scarce. The last few miles turned to hell as I started to dehydrate but luckily I ran into another couple on a day hike and they were kind enough to offer me a powerade which I gladly took.I was only a couple miles away from the shelter at that point so I had to cut my conversation short and start kicking it down the trail. By the time I hit the side trail to the shelter the rain drops had started to fall. I made a b line to the shelter and ran the whole way I popped in and met a father son duo that were finishing up there last section in PA.I was stoked to find a hot tub sized spot in the stream near the shelter a little was down and turned it into a little bathtub. It was freezing from that cold rain but felt so good with how dehydrated i'd been. Looked so clean and fresh I drank right from it too, god what a perfect way to end the day. Meet two new thru hikers as well Marbles and Bleep Bloop.
Date: 2015-06-15
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Woke up feeling great and ready to go hit town, I could have made it to the campsite right outside of town but I'd heard that the train running through there is killer in the middle of the night. The hike down into town was a beautiful one and I loved walking through the corn fields it was amazing. Got into Boiling Springs at a pretty early and was blown away with the beauty of the small local park with the stream turning into a pond filled with people boating and fishing. Went to hit the post office and while I was standing in line a woman struck up a conversation with me about hiking and offered me a shower and some food at her home. Of course I said yes so I grabbed my box hoped in her car and off we went. Shockingly she told me that both her and her son had to leave and I had free range of the house. I've never really experienced anything like that before and it kind of restored my faith in humanity just there open kindness. I grabbed a quick shower and crushed a pb&j thankful to be in the cool a/c and feeling fresh and clean. I got back over to the A.T. center to charge my phone up and pack my food again I was shocked to see how many people had come by. Nearly all of them were staying at the hotel up the hill, and I was missing Mary so it was decided she'd come and we'd stay there for the night too. I was lucky and snagged one of the very last rooms. Unfortunately there wasn't a play going on that night but we still had a good time going into the local town down the road.
Date: 2015-06-16
From: Boiling Springs, PA (Allenberry Inn)

To: Darlington Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Got back onto the trail at about 2 or 3 not sure exactly when but was feeling pretty juiced after grabbing a coffee with Mary before she had to take off for work. I really enjoyed the trail today it was so flat and had hardly any rocks at all it was like I was floating right over everything. It was awesome with the change of scenery turning into corn fields and cowpastures as we entered the heart of valley. About halfway into the hike I ran into a hiker named yohoo, like the chococlate drink, and he was going for his biggest day yet.We hiked together for the later part of the evening and all the way to the shelter; my original plan had been to find a stealth spot along the way but I ended up hitting the shelter. Glad I did because on the climb up we got to see the sunset casting over the valley and it was beautiful. I sat down for a minute to take it all in before I got to camp and was thrilled to find that someone had a pretty big fire going ready to be cooked on. It was already dusk so I threw out my gear to claim a spot in the shockingly empty shelter. There was a decent sized group up on the hill with their tents and only about 4 people in the shelter.I broke out my eggs to hard boil them and the hikers were shocked that I was cooking and eating hardboiled eggs on the trail fearing they couldn¢t keep. Well I¢m here to tell ya these puppies will last up to 4 days easily without a problem in the middle of summer and an awesome way to start your day. By the time darkness had set in the eggs were done so I threw them on the picnic table to cool overnight as everyone began to settle into bed and I followed suit shortly after feeling refreshed from my surprise visit.