morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-05-26
From: Rock Spring Hut (VA)

To: Thorton Gap (VA)
Miles today: 14.1

Day 755/26Start: Rock Spring HutFinish: Thorton GapMileage: 927.6-913.5=14.1Weather: beautiful I took my time getting up in the morning since I knew that I wasn't in a hurry to get anywhere. The day before I called my friend Ryan from the wayside and we determined a place to meet that afternoon. Ryan hiked half of the trail in the summer of 1996 and he just moved into this area, so he was interested in taking care of me in any way he could. So, rather than adding to the morning insanity, I let everyone pretty much clear out of the shelter before I got moving.I caught up to the TN Walkers shortly after starting out and purposely startled Josh from behind. It wouldn't be until later that evening that I realized that this was a big mistake when I found a five to eight pound rock secretly hidden away in my pack. Then I caught up to Bedhead and we walked together for the rest of the day as his father was picking him up at Thorton Gap to spend time together for a couple of days.The walking was beautiful as the weather was an incredibly welcome change from the past several days and as we had views galore during today's hike.At one point the trail winds along a cliff line for a while and it shoots out to rocky overlooks throughout the day.Some of the best views of the day, however, were not of vistas but of wildlife. I had my first bear sighting today and it was pretty exciting. I was walking ahead of Bedhead and this medium sized bear walked casually across the trail and perched on a rock. It stayed there for a number of seconds before it noticed me and quickly but silently darted into the woods. The creature was like a shadow - all black and unbelievably silent. I was very impressed. But what was almost as impressive was the fawn that Bedhead and I spotted earlier in the day. We heard this shrill cry for help and didn't quite know what was making the noise. Then we saw this fawn, covered with spots and hardly able to stand on its own legs, about twenty yards off of the trail. As we approached the animal, its legs began to wobble profusely until it finally collapsed to the ground. I told the fawn that it was fortunate we were not wolves or coyote, for it would have certainly been done for. We snapped a couple of pictures and moved on.I met Ryan right on time at Thorton Gap and we went into Front Royal to pick up my bounce box. After giving Method Man and Rza a ride from the post office to the grocery store, we went back to Ryan's place where he gave me a tour of the camp that he will be directing with his wife starting in July. Ryan and Marike made it their mission to feed me well that night and they certainly did just that. It was great to catch up with these guys since they've been living in other parts of the country for quite a while. I slept very well in a very comfortable bed.
Date: 2005-05-27
From: Thorton Gap (VA)

To: Gravel Springs Hut (VA)
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: broken clouds

Day 765/27Start: Thorton GapFinish: Gravel Springs HutMiles: 14.3Weather: SunnyRyan and I went with maintenance man George to the Shenandoah River in the morning to pick up a group of campers coming back from a canoeing trip. Then we came back and ate some lunch and went to resupply and mail my bounce box (from the smallest operating post office in the U.S.) before dropping me back at the trail.At the trailhead, I saw SteadyStep who scolded me for always going into town and having fun without him. Sorry, my friend. I started walking at a somewhat speedy pace since I knew I wanted to get to Gravel Springs Hut in order to meet up with DuBois and the TN Walkers before they left the trail the next day.DuBois made plans to ride to Maine with the TN Walkers and Squirrel Meat on Saturday so that he could have a definite and easy ride rather than trying to hitch from Harpers Ferry. Thus, I was interested in catching up with those guys before they left the next day.The hiking was really pretty with quite a few more good views of the Shenandoah Valley. The hiking was also relatively easy and I was pretty rested, so it went pretty smoothly. I had some of the best time in prayer that I'd had in a while sitting on a rock outcropping overlooking the valley below. Everything came together nicely to make for a wonderful afternoon of hiking.I strolled into the shelter to find DuBois and the TN Walkers sitting by a fire with Happy Wanderer and Galloping Gourmet getting ready for bed. We all hung out around the fire until late in the evening talking about all sorts of random subjects.
Date: 2005-05-28
From: Gravel Springs Hut (VA)

To: Jim & Molly Denton Shelter (VA)
Miles today: 18.6
Weather: broken clouds

Day 775/28s: Gravel Springs Hutf: Jim & Molly Denton Shelterm: 18.6w: am sun, pm thunderstormAs always, we got a pretty late start out of the shelter. Before we left, Hannah checked her voice messages on her cell phone to find out that Squirel Meat was not going to be going to Maine until next week since the guy he knows who is to be starting a SOBO hike has recently hurt his knee. So none of those guys really knew what was going to happen with all of that and it led to some debate about what options still might be available for DuBois getting a ride back to Maine.All we could do at this point though was hike, so that is what we did. DuBois and I hiked together for most of the morning, passing hoards of Memorial Day weekend hikers. There were more people on the trail than was comfortable or enjoyable and we were thus glad to be leaving the park that afternoon. An afternoon thunderstorm interrupted our lunch break and somehow caused Josh and DuBois to sing every hair band song they could collectively recall as we walked through the rain (fortunately, this rain was warm, unlike G&R's cold November Rain).The rain didn't last very long, but it left behind a lot of mud and the rest of the afternoon reminded me of a Slip'n'Slide birthday party I had as a kid... only with mud. As we descended toward the road leading to Front Royal, we walked through the least attractive section of the trail yet. At the road, I said goodbye to the other three, believing based on experience that I'd probably see them sooner than expected. The section of trail after the road was just as ugly as that before the road and I was therefore suprised by the beauty of the Jim and Molly Denton shelter. This place is a palace complete with a wood shed, an eating area seperate from the shelter, a sizable front deck with great chairs and a solar shower of which I did not take advantage. I just ate, hung out with folks (Porter, Happy Wonderer and Gallopping Gourmet, a different August and father and sons Mark, Alex and Jake) and went to sleep.
Date: 2005-05-29
From: Jim & Molly Denton Shelter (VA)

To: Ashby Gap (VA)
Miles today: 15.3

Day 785/29s: Denton Shelterf: Ashby Gapm: 15.3w: SunnyPorter and I planned on doing nineteen miles to Rod Hollow Shelter (which I, for some reason, kept calling Rod Stewart Shelter). We were moving pretty slow since Porter's knee was giving him some trouble. We definitely were not moving slowly because of any sort of beautiful scenery; the trail was chocked with encroaching underbrush, most of which was poison ivy. Since SNP, the low elevation terrain has created the longest unattractive section of trail yet. Sky Meadows State Park was the only redeemable part of this otherwise nasty section. The meadows we walked through were adorned with large sprawling trees that created an excellent landscape of contrasted shade and sunlight.The serenity of the area was eventually interrupted by the sounds of vehicles on U.S. 50, one of which contained our old buddy Matt. Matt spotted us while riding with his friend toward his parents' house down the road in Winchester. Since his parents and friends all live in this part of Virginia, Matt has been spending a good bit of time off the trail. We rode into town and ate at a gas station called Sheetz that actually has decent food. We spent the night at Matt's parents' house and watched Terminator 2 (my first movie on the trail).
Date: 2005-05-30
From: Ashby Gap (VA)

To: Bears Den Hostel (VA)
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: few clouds

Day 795/30s: Ashby Gapf: Bear's Den Shelterm: 13.5w: am sun, pm thunderstormsI called my mom this morning to wish her happy birthday and spoke with my dad on the phone for a while as well. It was nice talking with them as I hadn't done so in a while. Matt dropped me off at the trail and him and his friends from home (along with Porter who was nursing his knee) went canoeing on the Shannendoah River. The terrain continued to be poor until I reached the infamous Roller Coaster, which was not difficult but very nice as it provided for a change in scenery and enabled me to feel like I was kind of working for the miles.Shortly before reaching Bears Den I ran into SteadyStep who was worried about missing out on Queen Diva's dinner that he'd heard so much about. I assured him that everything was going to be alright and moved up to the hostel. The hostel was really nice but there wern't many thru-hikers around. Queen Diva is an amazing cook and she feeds hikers from the food she buys with money given to her by churches supporting Heartbeat AT, a ministry organization she is involved in that seeks to help hikers. Tonight we had salad, potato salad, baked beans, corn on the cob, cheeseburgers, hotdogs and angel food cake with strawberry topping. It was excellent! I hung out with Queen Diva some that night and went to sleep.
Date: 2005-05-31
From: Bears Den Hostel (VA)

To: Bears Den Hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Day 795/31Start: Bear's Den HostelFinish: Bear's Den HostelMileage: 0.0Weather: BeautifulI decided I'd wait around for DuBois to catch up afer getting back from the TN Walkers house since we planned on going to DC together in a couple of days. Several folks passed by before someone (Red) could finally tell me where he was and that he should be along within the hour. It ended up being a little more than an hour but I didn't mind the wait.It was a beautiful day for just sitting around but it was apparently pretty hot for hiking (esp. on the infamous Roller Coaster) as I figured out when DuBois showed up covered in sweat. Bedhead showed up shortly after DuBois and the two of them decided to stay for the night after I told them about Queen Diva's cooking. Although I was ready to hike on, I was not going to complain about staying another night at this wonderful place. Moose, Duct Tape and Firebug (Mike, Alex and Jake) showed up along with The Wandering Bull, southbound section hiker Melone, Steady Step, Wild Turkey and River Otter. So we had a big dinner crew. Shortly after dinner Porter, Figgaro and Tofu showed up to take care of the leftovers.I had a strange premonition about a friend of mine from home being hurt or in some sort of trouble that night and was unable to fall asleep for quite a while. I tried calling the person but, as usual, received no answer. This was a very strange sensation that I can't recall experiencing before, so I hope all is well. Sleep finally did come and it was sweet.
Date: 2005-06-01
From: Bears Den Hostel

To: Harper's Ferry, WV
Miles today: 20.5

Day 806/1Start: Bear's Den HostelFinish: Harper's Ferry, WVMileage: 20.5Weather: beautifulWe got moving pretty slowly this morning which seemed to be agitating DuBois who was ready to go. We did get moving and the walking was nice and pretty easy.I stopped by the Blackburn Trail Center to see what might be going on at this hostel/cabin type place. The caretaker was really nice and she gave me an orange soda (my favorite variety of soda). Lauren was there and she seemed to be feeling the heat of the day as she took a shower with all her clothes on.As I entered Harpers Ferry by way of the Shenandoah River bridge, I saw The Wandering Bull (henceforth Bull) sitting on some steps below. We hung out on the steps for a while and talked to people who were passing by. One guy came through talking about hiking on the AT to escape the video cameras positioned by police in the trees of most parks. He then expressed his disappointment in the AT since all he could smell on the trail were the shoes of those who had walked there before. He sited Davy Crockett as having particularly fragrant shoes.Bedhead and Wild Turkey showed up next and Wild Turkey called his brother who was to meet him in HF and take us to DC in the morning. Crazy guy showed up again after collecting rocks by the river. He showed us how one of the rocks looked like a bird, one like a monkey's head and one like a Harper. He explained that a Harper is an alien craft that hovers over the town of HF at night, especially after you ingest some controlled substances. He said "I love how rocks resemble creatures that came before us. You know... aliens."We rode with Wild Turkey's brother to the other side of HF and looked for DuBois for a while. With no success, we camped on the far side of the mighty Potomic River o the sound of the river and trains.
Date: 2005-06-02
From: Harper's Ferry, WV

To: Harper's Ferry, WV
Miles today: 0.0

Day 816/2Start: Harper's Ferry, WVFinish: Harper's Ferry, WVMileage: 0.0Weather: overcastBedhead and I set out to find DuBois in the morning without any success. So we went to DC and hoped to find him there. I knew he would be at the Natural History museum, so that's where the two of us went. Sure enough, we saw the TN Walkers who had just spoken with DuBois on the phone and we were all together within a matter of minutes.We stayed in the Natural History museum until lunchtime, ate lunch in the National Art gallery, went to the Hershorn museum of modern art and then I went back to the National Art gallery and to the WWII memorial. Bedhead checked out before lunch to go watch Star Wars and DuBois and the TN Walkers left after the Hershorn Museum. I will miss all three of those guys as they are all now officially off the trail.Bedhead, Wild Turkey and his brother and I met up where we had parted and took the metro back to the car. We ate dinner after picking up River Otter in HF and then camped in the same spot as last night.
Date: 2005-06-03
From: Harper's Ferry, WV

To: Harper's Ferry, WV
Miles today: 0.0

Day 826/3Start: Harper's Ferry, WVFinish: Harper's Ferry, WVMileage: 0.0Weather: rainyI actually did hike today, but due to the nature of the hike I will count this as another zero day and lump all of the hiking into one day since it was done in one continuous session. Bedhead and I decided to attempt the "four state challenge", which involves starting the day of hiking in Va, going through WV and MD and ending in PA within a period of 24 hours. Bedhead had been planning on doing this for a while and I just went along with his plan which was to start late in the afternoon and hike through the night and into the next day.So we hung around the ATC headquarters for most of the day and did some town chores. We ate lunch with Step and Trip at the house of Blue Moon, a very nice trail angel who also offered Bedhead and I a ride to the road just before VA to start our hike.We started out from the VA/WV line at 5:30 in the evening. My feet hurt from the beginning; I guess the zero day spent running around downtown DC wasn't too restful. We stopped in HF after an hour to get a meal and some ice cream. We pushed on into the night with a lot of fog, slick rocks and drizzle. The last time I checked my clock for the day we were crossing the I-70 footbridge and entering Greenbriar State Park.
Date: 2005-06-04
From: WV-VA State Line

To: Falls Creek Bridge, PA (4 State Challenge)
Miles today: 44.1

Day 836/4Start: Va - Wv State LineFinish: Falls Creek BridgeMileage: 44.1Weather: rainy, overcastAt around three am, we reached a campground at about the halfway point with free showers and tent sites; it was hard to leave. It was pretty nice to watch the sun come up and the sky get brighter over the next few hours, the main reason being that I would be able to negotiate the wet rocks with greater agility.I stopped along the trail to wait for Bedhead shortly after it became light and fell asleep while waiting. I was only asleep for a few minutes and when I woke up there was still no Bedhead. I hiked on only a few hundred yards to find Bedhead by a spring and declaring that he was throwing in the towel. I tried to convince him to go on to no avail and, thus, pushed on myself. I'm glad that I was able to do the next section during the day since it was incredibly rocky and difficult to maneuver. By the time I reached the next shelter, I needed a nice long break. Porter was there along with a number of section hikers. I stayed there for about an hour and then kept moving... nine miles to go.The next nine miles seemed to take forever and I began to feel the effects of being awake for almost thirty hours. I began to see objects as they weren't; rocks as tarps, rocks as backpacks, trees and leaves as faces and animals. Needless to say, it got a bit weird. So I took another long break at Pen-Mar ommunity Park, two tenths of a mile from the MD/PA state line. I called my parents and my friend Carter.I crossed the finish line (the Mason Dixon Line) twenty-two hours and ten minutes after I began hiking in VA. I hiked another mile or so before I found a campsite. I ate some food, assessed the status of my feet (four blisters, all on the toes of my right foot), set up my hammock and slept for over fifteen hours.
Date: 2005-06-05
From: Falls Creek Bridge, PA

To: Tumbling Run Shelters
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: few clouds

Day 846/5Start: Falls Creek BridgeFinish: Tumbling Run SheltersMileage: 7.6Weather: hot, sunnyI got out of bed around 11:00 am and felt surprisingly good. My feet and ankles didn't hurt and I had a reasonable amount of energy. I hiked to PA 16 and got a ride to the Waynesboro Food Lion to resupply. I stayed there for quite a while and met Todd, a section hiker who will be moving north for the next two months.It took a while to get a ride out of town but when I arrived back at the trailhead, Bedhead had just crossed the road. We both moved pretty slowly the rest of the afternoon and stopped at the shelter around six in the evening. Blue Eye, Steady Step, Todd, Pattie and Conner made up the rest of the crowd.
Date: 2005-06-06
From: Tumbling Run Shelters

To: Birch Run Shelter
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: clear sky

Day 856/6Start: Tumbling Run SheltersFinish: Birch Run ShelterMileage: 19.6Weather: am sun & hot, pm storms w/ hailThe day started out warm since it never really got cool during the night, and it only got hotter as the day progressed. I hiked by myself in the morning, planning to meet up with Bedhead, Steady Step and Bule Eye at the pool a Caledonia State Park.When we arrived, the pool was closed but a nearby creek was deep enough to dip in. We met Montezuma, a southbound hiker who started a bit north and was trying to make it to Georgia. Montezuma said he started out with a 137lb. pack, carrying seven sets of cloths, a camping axe, several knifes, a sixteen pound tent, sixty packs of snack crackers and all sorts of other stuff. He was a very nice guy and I give him props for still being out here. I hope he makes it to Georgia and sees everything that God wants him to see along the way.It started thundering pretty heavily as I left the park but the rain held off for a while. It didn't hold off forever though and once it started I was drenched within seconds. Hail pellets the size of mothballs (some as big as pinballs) pelted me from almost every angle as I now ran through the woods. The lightning looked like a red flash exploding before me.The storm and my heart rate decreased simultaneously and the storm eventually faded off into the distance. I sat with Bedhead or a snack break for no more than five minutes before the sky turned as black as night and the wind picked up once again. This time there was no hail but the lightning was twice as fierce. I thanked God for life to this point and kept walking. I probably should have gotten in the lightning position, but for some reason I just kept walking. Truly, there was probably only one semi-close lightning strike, but that was enough to make me speed up my pace. The storm faded out again as I reached the shelter and I changed cloths to dry off. I met a couple other long distance section hikers and we talked about the trail primarily. Sleep came easily.
Date: 2005-06-07
From: Birch Run Shelter

To: James Fry Shelter (PA)
Miles today: 17.1
Weather: broken clouds

Day 866/7s: Birch Run Shelterf: James Fry Shelterm: 17.1w: hot, sunnyI got a particularly late start this morning. If you've been reading along, you've noticed that I always seem to get a relatively late start, but today was especially delayed. So I didn't see too many people during the morning until I caught up with Steady Step shortly before Pine Grove Furnace State Park. He told me about running into Mountain Man and Mountain Dew, two of the craziest people on the trail at the moment. Mountain Man constantly writes entries in the shelter registers about the new religion he is starting and about his thirteen year old daughter, Mountain Dew, being a profitess sent from God. We've been catching up with this guy since Springer and have recently heard a lot about him since the PA authorities are keen on detaining him. And sure enough, I saw a PA forest service guy walking south on the trail shortly after I left Steady Step.I got to Pine Grove Furnace around lunchtime, but did not partake in the half gallon challenge (eating a half gallon of ice cream to commerate the halfway point on the trail) since there were no other thru hikers around. I did hang out in the park for a while to make phone calls and rest during the hottest part of the day. For some strange reason, I didn't feel like swimming in the lake; very un-characteristic of me.I pased the halfway marker later in the afternoon and then moved on to the shelter. Bedhead and Blue Eye had pushed on to the next shelter but I did meet Shadow and his neese and Todd was there.
Date: 2005-06-08
From: James Fry Shelter (PA)

To: Boiling Springs (PA)
Miles today: 12.2

Day 87 6/8s: James Fry Shelterf: Boiling Springs, PAm: 12.2w: hot, sunnyI started out walking with Todd who was having having trouble with a shin splint and wasn't planning on moving too far. We stopped by the Green Mountain store earlier in the morning and I had a good bit of ice cream. We parted company at the road to Mt. Holly Springs - Todd went into town and I went north on the AT. Around mid-afternoon I walked through a boulder field that contained two of the best looking boulder problems on the trail. One of the problems was seemingly impossible and the other also appeared quite difficult. I descended to Whiskey Springs Road to see Shadow and Coutney and a big pipe spewing out a large quantity of water. Being extremely hot and dehydrated, I stuck my head under the pipe to cool down. This was by far the best sensation of the day.The rest of the day's hiking went well and I got into Boiling Springs early in the evening. I called my parents from the ATC regional office and then went to the business of resupplying. I asked a man in the parking lot for directions to the grocery store and he offered me a ride. After speaking with him, I found out that he knows my former roommate Brooks as they work for the same company. He bought me an ice cream cone from McDonalds and drove me to the pizza place and then back to the ATC office. You run into the nicest people on the trail.I didn't want to sleep in the free campsite in town since the train supposedly passed it several times a night, so I pitched my hammock by the river. Once I got in the hammock though, the train came within about fifty feet of me blowing its whistle like there was no tomorrow. I decided that this wouldn't work, packed up again and hiked north about a mile and pitched there. I got to sleep at about one o'clock in the morning.