morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2017-06-28
To: Harper Ferry
Miles today: 11.1

5/8:Hiked 15 miles to Dicks Dome shelter. It was a good hike. On the waythere, I was closing in on the hiker in front of me, and just when Iwas about to pass Matt, a south bound hiker met us coming the otherway. He was a Hare Krishna in full dress. What a scene. He knew thelyrics of all three verses of ¢April Showers¢. He did a nice jobon the song.5/9:There is a part of the trail called ¢The Roller Coaster¢ that is13.5 miles of tightly packed ascents and descends. Early into it Imeet a hiker named The Joker. Him and I did 10 miles of it into theBears Den Hostel. This was built as a castle. There must have been15-17 hikers there. The day¢s total hike was 18 miles.Storyof the day: ¢He's not going to make it¢ Imet a hiker named Papa who told me that he was going to spend the night at Sky Meadows State park. I pointed out that would require him to go1.7 miles down the side of the mountain, and he said that he knewthat. The next morning just two miles into my hike, I came acrossPapa sitting on a park bench totally spent after coming back up theside of the mountain. After talking to him for a minute, I moved onthinking ¢he not going to make it¢. For the next 16 days I wasalways running into/around/camping with Papa, and it was always agreat time. PaPa did make it, he thru-hiked the AT. May the bestof luck always be with you.Storyof the day: The Bears den HostelTheJoker and I came into the Bears den first with Matt about an hourbehind us. Much to my surprise, Papa come in later. The Bears den isa castle- like stone lodge hostel that is owned by the ATC. Allhostels are better than sleeping in the mud, but this was a littleover sold. The Joker and I were put in the basement bunk house wheresomeone was snoring very loud all night. The Joker is very much an anti snoring person and was very upset in the morning about thenoise. I asked him as a side note if I snored, and he said¢Stillbill, you do not make a sound¢. How something change.5/10:A nice day for a 20 mile hike and to finish up the roller coaster. Igot to cross my first state line today VA ¢ WV. I was with Matt andthe Joker at the time. I got into Harper Ferry WV in the evening andmet up with Matt for dinner.
Date: 2017-06-29
To: The Riot Act
Miles today: 0.0

Storyof the day: Read the riot actMattand I come across a teenager just sitting on a rock on the side ofthe trail. He was wearing a cotton T-shirt, cotton jeans, and cottonConverse shoes. He only had with him, a big yellow sleeping bag and aplastic bag that you would get from a grocery store with some food init. Matt though he was 16, and I was thinking 18 years old. He toldus that he had just gotten on the trail by Harper Ferry and wasplanning on hiking south to GA. I knew that rain was coming the nexttwo days and at these temperatures this kid was going to be in verybig trouble. He knew zero about the trail or how it works except thatit went to GA. I do not think that I said a kind word to thisteenager. I would say that I read him the riot act. You do not wearany cotton on the AT for it does not dry, and he had no change ofclothes.. I asked what he was planning on doing with his food atnight, and he said that he would keep it in his sleeping bag, whichwould bring the bears also into his sleeping bag. Which wouldendanger him and everyone else around him. He told me that I shouldtry living like a bum, and I answered back that whatever he wasrunning from will look like peanuts within 48 hours. After talking tohim, Matt and I headed up the trail. A few minutes later Matt said tome ¢I do not think that he is going to die out here¢, I answeredback, you're right, he is not going to die, he will just wish he would.5/11:A zero day. As planned, Matt was heading home today, so I walkedaround Harper Ferry in a cold rain.5/12:Due to more heavy rain that was due in, I added another zero day inHarper Ferry. This was not part of my plan.
Date: 2017-06-30
To: Harper Ferry to Birch Run
Miles today: 0.0

5/13:Cold rain due to end around noon. I left the hotel at 8 am to walkthe mile to where I could pick up a shuttle to where I left the trailin lower Harper Ferry. I stopped at the Weverton Cliffs for the viewand lunch. In came Crazy Tree, and the man named Stealth who I havemet a few times. The trail was water, mud and rocks. Many times allthree. I entered the state of Maryland today. The three of usfinished up a 16 mile day at a new shelter called Rocky Run, and it wasvery nice.5/14:It rained from 6 to 7 am. The three of us were on the trail shortlyafter 7 am for a 20 mile day. There was a lot of history on the hiketoday. Maryland¢s Washington Monument and a monument for all warreporters killed in action. I had lunch at Annapolis rocks (very niceview), and ended up at Raven Rock Shelter with about 20 other hikers.It was a fun time, but it was ¢light's¢ out at 9 pm. The trailtoday was ROCKS, ROCKS, ROCKS, and ROCKS.Storyof the day: ¢Get up and do what you must do¢Afew of the younger hikers lined themselves up to do the four statechallenge (VA,WV,MD,PA ¢ 43 miles in one day). That is a whole lotof miles. Stealth, Crazy Tree and I were done for the night in oursleeping bags when ¢the Machine¢ came into camp saying he couldnot go the few miles more to complete the challenge. The women incamp were encouraging him on. ¢The Machine¢ finally said that hewas not going to move until two people kissed him and he didn't carewhich two. The next thing you hear is Stealth to Crazy Tree ¢ ¢getup and do what you must do¢ I was laughing out loud. Ended up thata girl and one guy kissed him with Crazy Tree taking a photo of it.¢The Machine¢ then headed back out on the trail to complete thechallenge.5/15:A short 7.2 mile hike into Waynesboro, PA. 5 miles in, I crossed theMason-Dixon Line. I am now in Pennsylvania. My shoes are starting tofall apart.5/16:Getting back to the trail was not fast this morning. I was lookingfor a ride for about an hour. Hiked 25.6 miles into Birch Runshelter. Papa was also there, and it had been a great day for a hike.My left shoe is now an issue. They are deteriorating very fast.
Date: 2017-07-01
To: Doyle Hotel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Storyof the day: Two men with a total IQ under 100Cominginto the shelter that I was planning on stopping for the night at,there were two men already there. After about two minutes I knew thattogether their total IQ was under a 100 and that staying there wouldend up being a big mistake. I told them that I was only stopping fordinner and water and needed to keep moving. Great plan, for when Igot to the next shelter Papa was there and he told me that is exactlywhat he did.5/17:Hiked 20.3 miles into Mt. Holly Springs, PA where I met up withNorsemen at the Holly Inn. Very nice place for $50 a night. I neednew shoes right now.5/18:Hiked 23.1 miles in open country, was all sun and in the 90¢s. Istopped in Boiling Springs, PA for lunch and to get out of theheat/sun for 5 hours. I also got a new pair of shoes that are made tohike in the rocks.5/19:Hiked 11.3 miles into Duncannon, PA to the Doyle Hotel. It is a thruhikers rite of passage to stay in this hell hole of a place. Onebeer, and the room was $25, and that was a little too much to pay forthis place. The place was full of hikers and I had a good time. At 1am, the local fire Dept. set off their city wide alarm. It soundedlike that thing was in my room.
Date: 2017-07-02
To: With PaPa and Stealth to William Penn
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

5/20:Hiked 16.1 miles with Papa and Stealth to a campsite. During thehike, I went down hard in the rocks. My left foot fell between somerocks and went down about a foot and a half. I was down for a goodminute before I could get my backpack off and get back up. It was agood ten minutes before I was back up to full speed again. There wasa military field firing range close by and they were firing the bigguns late. Papa is ex-special force and we had a great conversationabout the big guns.5/21:My plan today was to hike 26.3 miles to the William Penn shelter thatholds 16 people because it is to rain tonight. Mid-day I was told thatthere are about 25 hikers in front of me also going there to get outof the rain. That was very bad news for me. Right after that I met awoman name Boo Boo who was going to go into Lickdale, PA that nightto get out of the rain and I joined her. After a 19 mile day, she andI had dinner together in Lickdale.
Date: 2017-07-03
To: Lickdale PA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Storyof the day: Boo Boo and I must be husband and wifeAfterBoo Boo and I met, we hiked together the few miles to the highwaythat went to Lickdale, PA. When we got to the road, we were not surewhich way the town was, so we got a map out. Just then a guy asked usif we needed a ride and we both said sure. Boo Boo sat in the backwith me up front. On the way to town, the guy said something to meabout my wife Boo Boo and we both corrected him. Getting to thehotel, Boo Boo checked in first with me standing next to her, whenshe was done, I said to the desk clerk that I also needed a room, andshe answered back that she put us both in the same room because shethought we were husband and wife. After cleaning up, Boo Boo and Iwalked about a half mile down the road to a restaurant for dinner,again, the server said something about Boo Boo and I being married.This was all within a few hours.5/22:Boo Boo stayed in Lickdale for a zero day. I hiked 17 miles to acampsite. The trail was a lot of rocks today.5/23:Hiked 18.8 miles on a very rocky trail to Hamburg, PA. Norsemenalready had gotten a motel room that he and I split.Storyof the day: Down the hill with Power HouseComingup to Hamburg, I was hiking with a woman named Power House. Thislittle German woman has only taken one zero day to date and was notstopping in Hamburg like everyone else. She must be a better humanbeing then me. She nor I had noticed in the data book that there wasgoing to be a big down just before we got to town. It was a hard one,I was just glad It was not going up it. By the time I got to thebottom, I needed to rest, and a few minutes later, Power House joinedme. As I was happy to get into a town for a zero day, she, as planned,just kept putting one foot in front of the other.
Date: 2017-07-04
To: The rocks
Miles today: 0.0

Storyof the day: Buy me a drink?AfterPower House and I parted ways, I needed to hitchhiked the few milesfrom Port Clinton PA, to Hamburg PA. The first car to come by stoppedto pick me up. The woman told me she was a trail angle and asked if Ihad a problem if she stopped at the Post Office so she could get hermail, and of course I said that it would be no problem. When she cameout of the Post Office, she told me the bar right across the streetwas her hang out and she wanted to know if I would buy her a drink.One look at her and I knew she was not talking about just one drink,so I told her sorry but I could not and asked her again about theride to Hamburg PA. She was not happy, but off we went. 5/24:Zero day. Stealth and I meet Papa and his wife Mary for lunch. Papais now going to Maine to start being a south bounder. I should meethim again in southern Maine. Boo Boo came in late afternoon, and wehad dinner at the hotel together.Totalmiles to date are 749.45/25:It rained most of the night and a good part of this day, so I addedanother zero day along with Stealth, Norsemen and Boo Boo. Norsemen,Boo Boo and I went out (we got a ride) for lunch.5/26:Hiked 14.5 miles to Eckville Shelter. This shelter has a flush toiletand that¢s a big deal. There were 8 of us there including Norsemen,Boo Boo and I.5/27:Hiked 17.4 miles .11 miles in is where ¢the Rocks¢ start. For thenext 50 miles, the trail is rocks. Big rock climbs were at TheKnife¢s Edge, Bear Rocks, and Bake Over. I am starting to count myfears. I did manage to get to Bake Over Knob shelter very late withNorsemen. Boo Boo stopped a few miles back.Storyof the day: Just one question, what day is it?Norsemenand I had set up camp when a dad and his teenage daughter came tocamp with us. After dinner I asked her when they decided to do thisfew day hike, and she told me that it was Wednesday when theydecided. I looked at her and said that I only have one question, whatday is today, for I had no idea.5/28:Planning a 23.5 mile day. The trail is all rocks. Just pastPalmerton, PA I had to climb over Le-high Gap which is a very rocky,steep trail. All my fears started bubbling up as I went over the topof this one. I managed to make 18 miles, but that was a very goodday. Just as I was going into my tent about 7 pm, a little rainstarted. A side note. I met a couple today who gave Norsemen and Iapples, and the man asked me if I was Stillbill from Trail Journals.He has been reading my post. Thanks for the apple.
Date: 2017-07-05
To: Pocono Inn
Miles today: 0.0

Storyof the day: I do not need deodorant anymore.Knowingthat I was going to meet up with my sister Chris in Dayton Ohio, I'vebeen thinking about what I can give her to lighten up my backpack. Ineed to do this to carry more food and water. My self protectionknife was the first thing on my list. Peace Walker had told me thatshe was not carrying a knife because if you can't kill a bear with thefirst strike, you are only going to make that bear very mad at you.Next came my deodorant. I'm sweating from every pore in my body andnot taking very many baths, so I do not see how deodorant is helpingme go to Maine. After reviewing everything in my pack, I cut my baseweight by 3 pounds, and that is a big deal.5/29:I did not know that rain was expected. It rained all night with theheaviest of the rain coming between 6-10 am. I did not get back onthe trail until 11 am. My tent is just mud. After a 10.6 mile day, Imet back up with Norseman to stay at Wind Gap, PA.Storyof the day: Norseman and I eat at Wendy'sNorsemanasked me if I wanted to go to Wendy's to eat and I said sure. Iordered two double cheeseburgers and a side salad along with a dietcoke. After I ate all of this and washed it down with 5 or 6 cokes, Igot up and went back up to the counter and ordered a chicken sandwichwhich I also ate. A hiker's appetite at it best.5/30:It rained all day; I hiked 16 miles to Delaware Water Gap, PA, whichis on the PA ¢ NJ border. I did have to go over 1,500¢ Mt Minsiwith all the rock wet. More fears were bubbling up.Hereis where I stopped to go to Dayton, OH for my nephew Mike¢swedding. 825 miles of trail are now behind me. I will be back on thetrail Tuesday June 6thwith my friends Dave and Jim Buchele. They will be hiking withme for about a week.Storyof the day: Boo Boo asks about the Pocono innIwas coming into Delaware Water Gap, PA, and Boo Boo sent me a textsaying that she was going to stay at the Deer Head Inn there. Istopped at the Inn but it was closed, so I let Boo Boo know that Iwas going to stay at the Pocono Inn. Ends up she was a day behind me.The Deer Head was also closed for her, and she wanted information onthe Pocono Inn for they did not answer the phone. I told her not tostay there butShesaid she was desperate to get clean and dry. She was also happy thatshe could do her laundry there. You have to see this place tounderstand what is going on there. The Inn is undergoing a majorrenovation and more than 75% of the room are not in use. Also therestaurant, bar, conference rooms, and laundry are closed, and theparking lot that you see coming into the inn is also undergoing workand is empty. After Boo Boo checked in, she named the Inn the WalkingDead Motel, and barricaded her door for the night.
Date: 2017-07-06
To: Jim Millers Field
Miles today: 0.0

6/5:Had a great time this past week, it was great to see the family. Imet up with Dave and Jim Buchele in Tipp City OH, and the three ofus drove two cars all day back to Delaware Water Gap, PA. We spentthe night at the Pocono Inn which Boo Boo calls ¢the walking deadmotel¢.6/6:We dropped Jim¢s car 50 trail miles ahead and returned my rentedcar, so we did not get to the trail until noon. We hiked 10.5 milesto Mohican Outdoor Center where we got a cabin for the night. Thetrail today had a lot of rocks. It was very hard for me to return tothe trail after being off it for a week.6/7:We hiked 21 miles to The Gren Anderson shelter. Just a great day fora hike. I was still not happy about coming back out, but was feelinggood by the end of this day's hike. The trail had a lot of rocks, buttomorrow we turn east away from the rocks. A hiker named Fog cameinto the shelter late. Met a young woman named Captain Kirk and herboyfriend.6/8:We hiked 18.4 miles on a great day. I¢m back into hiking. The trail had a lot of rocks going into High Point State Park, which is thehighest point in NJ, there is a really nice 220¢ tower there. Rightafter the park, the trail turned east and the amount of rocksdecreased by 80-90%. We spent the night on Jim Murray field. Hisphone number was on a card there and we called him up and asked if wecould stay. He told us yes at no cost, and that the water there wasgood.Storyof the day: Snack for DaveWhenwe got to the tower at High Point State Park, we stopped for a muchneeded break. I had been carrying a snack with me just for Dave. Notshowing him what I had, I told him that he needed to use his spoon toeat it, Dave replied back that he was not going to eat any dehydratedice cream, and I told him to not make me tell him again to get hisspoon out, which he did. I handed him a sandwich bag with whitematter in it, he looked at it with no idea of what it was. Openingit, he tasted it and got a big smile on his face. I had taken afamily size bag of potato chips and pulverized it in a blender untilit was nothing but fine particles.Storyof the day: Donkey's come over to visitIhad left Jim Miller a phone message about us wanting to stay in hisfield, and we were waiting for a call back when his two donkeys camewalking over to us from a nearby barn. I take it they only wanted tosay hi and check us out, for after a 10-15 minute visit they bothreturned to the barn. When Jim called me back, I told him about thedonkey's and he told me not to worry because they are not going anywhere.The two donkey's also came back in the morning to say goodbye.
Date: 2017-07-07
To: Breezy Point
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

6/9:We hiked 19.5 miles to Wawayanda Shelter where we had parked Jim¢scar. It was another great day for a hike. About two miles into thehike, we stopped in Unionville, NY for lunch. Fog and Crazy Treewere there. I told Crazy Tree how hard it had been to come back, andthat I needed Dave and Jim to make me come back. Crazy Tree told Daveand Jim ¢Stillbill belongs on this trail, so thanks for bringinghim back¢. We made a 2nd stop in Vernon, NJ for some late afternoonice cream, and a little rest before we went up Wawayanda Mountain,which is known as the ¢Stairway to Heaven¢. It is a mountain ofrocks.6/10:Hiked 10.1 miles to Bellville, NY. Four miles in we officiallycrossed into New York. We climbed up what is called ¢the Ladder¢. At the top, Jim turned back to move the car from Wawayanda park toBellville, NY. After the Ladder, the trail ran along the crest lineand was all BIG rocks which you have to climb over. This went on foraround a mile. We ended up staying the night at the Breezy Point Innin Greenwood, NY for a great last night together.6/11:The heat is going to be on for 3 days. Dave and Jim dropped me off atthe trailhead after lunch, and I hiked 2 hard miles to the Wildcatshelter where I stopped for what is called a nearo day. That is a daywith close to zero miles. Today was in the 90¢s. One of the hikersthat came into camp was a man named Ketchup.6/12:A very hot day. I hiked 19.9 miles to William Brien shelter. I was onthe trail at 5 am to hike 14 miles by noon, and then sit the middaysun out and hike again in the evening. Like all the other hikers Igot damaged in the heat and did not get to the shelter until 3 pm tofind that it was closed due to bear on human contact, so I had tokeep going. I had to go through what is called ¢The lemon squeezer¢which is a hard rock climb with no energy in my legs. By the time Igot into camp, with Ketchup, I was in very bad shape.Noteadded later: I never recovered from this day, this was the beginningof the end.
Date: 2017-07-08
To: Rat me Out
Miles today: 0.0

Storyof the day: Drinking a gallon of waterByearly afternoon I was not doing well and was consuming water at an alarming rate. As I came up to a road, a trail angel had put about 40one gallon jugsofwater in the woods for hikers to use. I took one jug and filled mywater containers and drank the rest. Getting ready to move on, Idecided that I had not drunk enough water yet, so I opened a freshgallon and without stopping drank the whole thing.Storyof the day: ¢I not going to rat you out¢Comingup to a road that a deli was on, I was planning to stop for lunch. Isee Ketchup coming south across the road at me. I called out to himthat he was headed in the wrong direction, he laughed and said that hehad crossed the road going north at the deli, and needed to ¢cleanup¢ this missed part of the trail. That is a purest for you. I toldhim that there was not a chance in hell that I would do a clean uplike that. Ketchup laughed, and said for me not to worry because he wasnot going to rat me out.6/13:I left the shelter at 5:15 am and the first thing I had to do wasclimb up about 50 yards of rocks. About 40 yards into the climb, Ilooked up to see that I was heading right to a bear. The bear wasabout 10 yards in front of me just sitting there looking at me. Myheart stopped for a half a second, but then I was okay. I was surethat due to the poor eyesight that black bears have, it would not comedown into the rocks to me. I had to stand up so that I could get myphone out to turn it on so that I could take a photo. This is thepart that no one will believe. I asked the bear if he was going towait there until I got a photo. The bear went up on its two back legswhere I could see just how big it was. Black bears do that for tworeasons. 1) To get a better look at you. 2) To smell you. I had nottaken a shower in a few days and with this heat I¢m sure it ranaway after it smelled me. I also did not get a photo. So I hiked 10.2miles into Fort Montgomery, NY. It was another very hot day. I haveno legs to hike.6/14:Hiked 20.2 miles to Clarence Fahnestock State park, and shared a tentsite that was just about all rocks with Gentle Note whom I met onthe trail today. There were a lot of women on the trail today, all ofthem by themselves. There were more women than men. I have no legs tohike.