morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-05-23
From: High Top Hut

To: Barfence Mountain Hut
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: broken clouds

The observant reader may have notice my daily mileage has decrease the last couple of days (and will likely be light for the next few days). Why, you may ask? Are you hurt? Are you tired? Are you getting old? No, none of the above. There are two reasons. First, I¢m meeting Ruby Bagonia in Harper¢s Ferry on the 31st, so there is no point of pushing hard just to get there early. Second, SNP is waded with creature comforts and it takes time to sample all of them.Another beautiful day. I¢ve lost track but it has been about 2 weeks without serious day time rain.I¢m due for new boots in Harper¢s Ferry, but the left one will make its last 100 miles interesting. The leather is splitting and delaminating from the sole. Thankfully, I am an amateur cobbler (i.e. I know how to use duct tape). I had enough for the original repair but not much extra. So, in true thru hiker fashion, I ¢yogied¢ some more tape at the South Fork Picnic Grounds. (To yogi is to get something for free ¢ usually food ¢ from picnickers; as in ¢I yogied a hamburger at the picnic ground¢; comes from Yogi Bear, who excelled at this.) My donors only had a teeny roll but it will be good for at least one repair. While at the picnic grounds, I did a quick water only laundry of my salt encrusted shirt and some dirty socks. Also, filled up my water bottles.Mid afternoon brought me to the Lewis Mountain Campground (and Camp Store). The campground was full on this Memorial Day weekend and the store was surprisingly low on merchandise but enough remained to satisfy my hunger: salami, American cheese, rye bread, Pringles, ice tea, and ice cream saved me from starvation. The shelter was only a mile after the campground. Dinner was one more cheese sandwich and a granola bar ¢ I¢m actually full. Tenting tonight to avoid the bugs. Hooray, passed the 900 mile mark!P.S. I hate Pringles. I will never buy them again; even if they are the only junk food salty snacks in the store.
Date: 2009-05-24
From: Barfence Mountain Hut

To: Rock Spring Hut 
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: overcast clouds

No bears but I did wake to a deer grazing 10 feet from my tent.Another easy, food filled day in SNP. The Big Meadows Wayside was the food stop for the day. Cheese steak fries, salad, coleslaw, ice tea, and blueberry cobbler ala mode was round 1. Followed a bit later by cheese burger, muffin, and ice tea. Also, toured the Byrd visitor center where I learned that the government essentially stole the land for the park from the mountain people . The rest of the day passed quickly with a bit of light rain.
Date: 2009-05-25
From: Rock Spring Hut 

To: Elk Wallow Gap (Matthew Arms Campground)
Miles today: 12.7

Breakfast was at Skyland Breakfast Buffet, which was an easy 4 miles from the shelter. For $9.95 we had eggs, hashbrowns, bacon, sausage, French toast with real maple syrup, fruit, and coffee. The rain started before we left Skyland and we hiked on. At Pass Mountain Hut, I decided the rain would hold off and I decided to push on to Elk Wallow ¢ 7 miles away. Bad decision, after a few miles it started to dump. By the time I got to the Elk Wallow Wayside, it was closed and the outside soda machine was broken. The campground that is next to the Wayside was actually 2 miles away. So, after nearly another hour of hiking in the near dark I arrived at the campground. I used the restroom as a staging area to keep things as dry as possible. The campground hosts turned into trail angels ¢ hot chocolate and cookies. The only other campers in the area was a family of Amish folks in an RV. They had a big campfire and I warmed up by it before going to my tent wet, cold, wet, depressed, wet, and wet. I found out later that a number of towns in the area had record breaking rain ¢ D.C. had 2¢ for instance.
Date: 2009-05-26
From: Elk Wallow Gap (Matthew Arms Campground)

To: Tom Floyd Wayside
Miles today: 16.2
Weather: moderate rain

Still raining in the morning. I again used the restroom to stage my packing. So, I walked to Elk Wallow Wayside in the rain. It was about 10:30 so I had breakfast and lunch. Later, I left Shanendoah National Park.Although it was still raining, it was no longer a deluge and stuff started transitioning from wet to dampest. By morning the rain stopped though the trees were condensing out the fog and continually dripping.
Date: 2009-05-27
From: Tom Floyd Wayside

To: Manassass Gap Shelter
Miles today: 13.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Today I, along with Maggie and Red Bear, went to Linden to resupply. We got rides most of the way. A nice guy with a pick-up truck took us to the P.O. and a restaurant. The back of his truck was full of stuff but Maggie, Red Bear, and our packs all fit while I rode in the cab. The restaurant had great BBQ (Maggie¢s first ever) and very good apple pie. The first car heading our way after we left the restaurant gave us a ride to the store. We then walked back to the trail. All in all we probably saved a couple of hours with the great rides. We passed the National Zoological Park¢s Endangered Animal Breeding Facility. It is on the site of the former training facility for the U.S. Calvary.I¢m sitting in a good position for making Harper¢s Ferry Late Saturday or early Sunday ¢ in time to meet Ruby.One of the thru hikers came upon a bear whom seemed a bit aggressive. The hiker backed off and the bear returned to what he was doing ¢ looking for something. All of a sudden he pounced, there was a scream, and the bear came up with a fawn in his mouth. He then bounded off into the woods. It must have been a striking scene. It is one of those things that would have been cool to see but on the other hand, kind of glad I missed it.
Date: 2009-05-29
From: Port Clinton, PA

To: Blackburn A.T. Center
Miles today: 17.8
Weather: overcast clouds

I made a big push to set up for an easy run to Harper¢s Ferry on Saturday. It rained ¢ short but hard ¢ and then the sun came out. I managed to get a hold of Ruby to finalize her visit. She reminded me that ¢those storms have a way of circling around and getting you a second time¢. I assured her the sky was bright blue. About two hours later it rained like crazy.We hiked the ¢roller coaster¢ today. It is a series of 10 hills over about 15 miles that has a nasty reputation. My personal opinion is that it wasn¢t much worse than any other day.I stayed at the Blackburn Center run by the A.T.C.; they frequently make (free) dinner for guests. Unfortunately, I arrived just after dinner had finished. The accommodations were a cabin and the screened veranda of the caretaker¢s house. There were tables and chairs and playing cards, which allowed for a quick game of hearts and then dinner.The Blackburn Center looks to the east, and after the storm passed, it was very clear. We could see the Washington Monument clearly. The Lincoln Memorial and Capital were also partially visible. It was a gorgeous sight!
Date: 2009-05-30
From: Port Clinton, PA

To: Harper's Ferry
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: clear sky

Last night one of the caretakers offered to take our packs to Harper¢s Ferry and allow us to slack pack. The thought of skipping lightly over the trail was irresistible. Because my shoe was on its last leg (no pun intended), I took duct tape for repair, rope for even more repair, and the Target brand Croc-knock offs for fall back. Otherwise it was only water, a bit of snacks, and medical kit.The weather was great. The miles were easy. Yes!I got to Harper¢s Ferry and crossed the Shanendoah River on the highway bridge. I made my way to the A.T.C. Center and the psychological half-way point of the A.T. The folks at the center took my picture and I became the 151st North bound thru-hiker. Red Bear and I got a ride to nearby Charles Town, named after George Washington¢s brother and we laundered, ate, and slept.
Date: 2009-05-31
From: Harper's Ferry

To: Harper's Ferry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

This is the start of a five day visit by Ruby Begonia. She flew into Dulles and we met at the Harpers Ferry Comfort Inn.We did the tourist-thing. Harpers Ferry is best known for John Brown¢s raid, capture and execution. It also was a key railroad junction during the Civil War; virtually the whole town was destroyed. Finally, it was the home of Storer College, the first Southern integrated college. Now, it is the headquarters of the Appalachian Trail Conference (ATC) and a weekend tourist spot with gift shops and restaurants.
Date: 2009-06-01
From: Harper's Ferry

To: Harper's Ferry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

We did the D.C. tourist thing today.We gave Loon a ride to the Metro and then took the Metro ourselves to the Mall. We toured one of the art museums in the Smithsonian, rode to the top of the Washington Monument, walked to the Lincoln Memorial, ate at a nice Chinese restaurant and returned to Harpers Ferry.
Date: 2009-06-02
From: Harper's Ferry

To: Harper's Ferry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

We spent most of the day driving to REI, exchanging damaged stuff and buying other stuff, and driving back. We also had time to enjoy a great Thai restaurant.The big ticket items at REI were a replacement tent (failed zippers), new poles (bent, chewed on by mice, and occasional slipping). Highlight of the new stuff is an inflatable pillow ¢ can¢t wait to use it.I got us hopelessly lost on the way back to Harpers Ferry but eventually we got us-lost; hate when that happens.
Date: 2009-06-03
From: Harper's Ferry

To: Harper's Ferry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Today we went to Winchester and visited the Shenandoah Valley Museum which also had a mansion tour and some gardens. It was all very picturesque and informative.Lunch was at a Jamaican Restaurant. Not what you¢d expect to find in a small Virginia town but they had very good jerk goat and curry chicken.
Date: 2009-06-05
From: Harper's Ferry

To: Crampton Gap Shelter
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: moderate rain

Ruby left for the airport at 7:00 AM .It was raining pretty hard so I took my time eating breakfast and packing. I finally checked out at 11:00 but it was still raining so I sat in the lobby and read news on the Internet.At 11:30 I finally left the motel, walked the 15 minutes to the restaurant district and had lunch. It was still raining at 1:00 PM but I had run out of excuses and so I started hiking.First thing I did was cross the Potomac River into Maryland; the sixth state (and a short one ¢ only 40 miles to Pennsylvania).After 10 miles, I was beat. Too many zero days?The shelter was almost empty. Just me and two section hikers, Robin and Elaine. The rain stopped and all-in-all, a nice night.
Date: 2009-06-06
From: Crampton Gap Shelter

To: Ensign Cowall Shelter
Miles today: 20.7
Weather: broken clouds

I felt much stronger and enjoyed the 20 mile day. No rain, but pretty hot and humid. Soon, I¢ll need to start very early and take a siesta during the hot afternoon, and resume hiking in the evening.Today was ¢National Trails Day¢. There were a lot of trail maintainers and a whole lot of day hikers.I crossed I-70 today. I sat on the foot bridge over the freeway and ate lunch and watched the traffic. A lot of the cars and trucks honked at me ¢ apparently, it¢s a custom to beep at thru-hikers. Later, I stopped at the original Washington Monument. It was built in 1820 ¢ 60 years before the one in Washington D.C.The shelter was again not very crowded; four of us.I¢m getting close to the physical half way point. I passed 1,150 miles to go; 1,089 is half way.
Date: 2009-06-07
From: Ensign Cowall Shelter

To: Deer Lick Shelters
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: clear sky

I¢m in Pennsylvania.Maryland only contains forty miles of the AT, so it usually takes only two or three days to cross.Much of the walking today was on rocks, a 2.0 on the difficulty scale. On the plus side, we kept passing picturesque stone walls, a reminder that most of this land was farmed and grazed in the ¢olden days¢.The border of MD and PA is marked by PenMar Park. It is a pretty picnic area with refreshment stand. They also feature Sunday concerts, so the place was packed. I ate and relaxed to give my protesting feet a break.Later, I walked into Blue Ridge Summit to resupply and got a ride back to the trail from the first car heading my way!I planned on more mileage, but the shelter at 2 miles grabbed me and wouldn¢t let go. (Actually it is two very small shelters ¢ how odd). I set up my new REI Quarter Dome Tent for the first time and fell in love. It is an improvement over the old Quarter Dome in every aspect. Ah, living large.1,040 down, less than 50 to the official half-way point.
Date: 2009-06-08
From: Deer Lick Shelters

To: Birch Run shelter
Miles today: 23.2
Weather: scattered clouds

The threatened rain held off and, under cloudy skies, I passed Caledonia State Park during the early afternoon. The ¢opened daily in summer¢ refreshment stand was closed ¢ much to my disappointment. Summer apparently starts next week. Although it was a long day, the trail was of difficulty 1.0 on the Bow Willow scale, so it wasn¢t too brutal. The new tent performed admirably in the light rain that we had over night, though it wasn¢t really tested.Only 1,100 miles to go!
Date: 2009-06-09
From: Birch Run shelter

To: Pine Grove Road (Cherokee Family Campground)
Miles today: 17.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Today I passed 3 of the 4 midpoints on the AT. You might remember from high school math that a path has only one midpoint and so, how, you may ask, can the AT have 4 midpoints? Well the AT is special. The answer comes in two parts. First, the trail keeps changing length as improvements are made. Second, the reason for many things ¢ business and politics.Last week I hit the ¢Psychological midpoint¢ in Harpers Ferry at the ATC headquarters. When the trail was first proposed it was close to the expected physical midpoint but the southern terminus was moved and now it¢s off by 75 miles. Today I first passed the actual mathematical midpoint. It is unmarked so I don¢t know exactly where it was. Next, I passed the Pine Grove Furnace Store that calls itself the halfway point and offers the ¢half gallon challenge¢ (more on that below). It¢s actually a mile or two past the midpoint. Finally, 4.7 miles after the ¢real¢ midpoint is a midpoint marker created by a 1985 thruhiker. But however you count, measure or mark, I¢m more than half done.The ¢half gallon challenge¢ is simple. Buy a half gallon of ice cream and eat it as fast as you can. If you finish (regardless of time), you get a souvenir spoon that says ¢member of half gallon club¢. I passed on the half galln and instead bought a pint of vanilla and a root beer. Yum! I followed it up with a burger fries and a Gatorade. Finally, it was time to leave ice cream heaven and start hiking. After 100 yards it started pouring. So I and Jane (who I had just met) sat in the front of some picnic rest rooms and watched the lightning and hail for a long time. Finally, the rain slowed down and we started out. After a while I needed to adjust my pack and I made a stupid rookie mistake that got us lost. Whenever you stop, you always need to pause and check where the trail goes. I didn¢t, And when we resumed we went onto a side trail. After a few minutes, we realized we weren¢t on the AT. It took us about 15 minutes to re-find it. Kudos to Jane for figuring out where we had gone wrong. I was so embarrassed. Jane is a professional photographer and took a great picture of me in a field of mountain laurel. We spent the night at a nice private campground. It mostly consisted of semi-permanently positioned trailers and small cabins with a small moss covered camping area.
Date: 2009-06-10
From: Pine Grove Road (Cherokee Family Campground)

To: US-11
Miles today: 19.7

Jane and I got an early start. She needed to get to Boiling Springs to pick up her van and drive to a weekend art show; I simply wanted to put in some miles. I was hiking a bit faster than her and she said to go on ahead and she¢d catch up before Boiling Springs. Unfortunately, I never saw her again.In addition to missing a chance to say good by, I also failed to get her contact info so that I could get a print of the gorgeous photo she took of me. So, if you¢re reading this, Jane, or if anybody reading this journal knows how to contact Jane, please get in touch with me.Boiling Springs was a gorgeous little town. The town¢s namesake springs produce an astonishing 1,000,000 gallons per hour. The output fills a nice little lake in the center of town as well as a huge swimming pool. The ATC has a regional office in the town.While there is no real grocery store, there is a convenience store and a very good pizza restaurant. While I was eating, there was a huge thunderstorm. By the time I was ready to leave it had stopped (sweet).The rest of the day was a flat walk through corn fields. It felt very Midwestern. The corn was more than knee high, so the fields were very green but you could see all the way across the valley.There were a few motels, gas stations, restaurants, and trucking warehouses near the trail at US-11 and I decided to spend the night out of the rain at the Super 8. It was a good move because it poured and poured for several hours. Meanwhile, I got my laundry done and luxuriated with a long shower.
Date: 2009-06-11
From: US-11

To: Duncannon, PA
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: light rain

The Super 8 that I stayed at had a very, very minimal breakfast buffet and I went across the street to the very nice Middlesex Diner. Last night¢s rain had departed but it was foggy and very humid. I continued my tour of the corn fields.After a while I caught up with a local ridge runner (ridge runners are ATC employees who patrol a portion of the trail and maintain the shelters). We had a great conversation discussing thru hikes, equipment, and so forth. While we are chatting and hiking, the ridge runner gets a call from his headquarters, the gist of which is that there is a crazy-acting person up ahead scaring the hikers.Great, makes my day. The ridge runner kicks it up a notch to go check it out and I continue plodding along. The shelter where the guy was last seen is off the trail and I (wisely) don¢t go down there, but hurry on past toward the town of Duncannon. As usual, it starts to rain when I¢m 15 minutes from town, but it can¢t dampen my spirits and, in any event, it stops after 10 minutes.The highlight of Duncannon (and one of the premier highlights of the whole trail) is the town¢s hotel ¢The Doyle¢. As my handbook says, ¢an ancient hotel built by Anheuser Busch, staying there is a thru hiker tradition.¢ Another source that I have says, ¢¢¦ legendary. Great food, rooms are Spartan, no TV. Doyle gets fairly festive at night.¢ All of this is true but they left out the part about feeling like you died and went to heaven. In no particular order, here are some of my most vivid impressions:-        They run a tab so you can eat and drink to your heart¢s content without having to deal with money ¢ until the end of the night. The owner said that if you forget to pay there¢s a $10 per floor surcharge for her having to walk up the stairs to get her money. (I was on the fourth floor).-        ¢Spartan rooms¢ is way too kind. My room was easily the most run down lodging that I had on the whole trip. But everything worked and it was clean which is more than you can say for some of the motels I¢ve stayed at.-        The bar was great. Many kinds of beer, great (really, really great) food, eccentric locals, stays open until no one¢s left.-        Bag of Tricks (a legendary trail presence) and Traveler (who supposedly has hiked on the trail for 25 years including mid-winter thru hikes and lives in Amsterdam, Netherlands) regaled us with stories ¢ some of which may have been true.We closed the bar down around midnight. I have half a notion to just hang here until September and then go back to San Diego.Oh, 1,050 miles to go!
Date: 2009-06-12
From: Duncannon, PA

To: Duncannon, PA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Doyle¢s doesn¢t serve breakfast, so I went to the diner across the street. While most of the food was great, something poisoned me¢possibly the sausage. My body went into ¢save Bow Willow¢ mode. Before breakfast, I hadn¢t decided whether I was going to take a zero day, but my body said, ¢Yes, you will¢, so I did.By afternoon, I was feeling a bit better and had a bowl of soup. Later, I had a bit of mac¢n¢cheese with ham.The Doyle had live entertainment ¢ a singer/guitarist who was occasionally joined by his buddy who also was a singer guitarist. But the big entertainment was the seventh game of the Stanley Cup featuring the Pittsburgh Penguins. Even the guitarists¢ eyes were glued to the screen. I watched the game with my friend PenJay who was on a mission to drink enough beer for both of us while I played it safe.Another eventful day at the Doyle ¢ I still want to live there!
Date: 2009-06-13
From: Duncannon, PA

To: PeterÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Mtn. Shelter
Miles today: 11.3

I braved the breakfast diner this morning (there is really no other choice) and I survived! I packed, made a post office stop and sadly left the Doyle. After an early lunch at a pizza place, it was back to the trail. (A bit of a generalization but ¢¦ All pizza from Georgia to West Virginia is very bad. All pizza from Maryland on North is great.)At my lunch stop, I ran into Radio Freq. He said he had just decided to get off the trail. I was a bit shocked. He says it just isn¢t fun anymore. I¢m going to need a day or two to internalize this. Last I saw of him, he was heading back to Duncannon.Tonight¢s shelter is a fancy new one that is bright and airy and has a nice upstairs which is where I chose to sleep because there wasn¢t any decent tenting sites.I was happy to run into Mudflap who I haven¢t seen in a couple of months. Also, there was a group of weekend campers at the shelter. They are all into Civil War reenactments. Si, instead of the thru hikers regaling the weekenders with stories, they did the regaling. It sounds very interesting; one of the benefits is that you experience everyday life in the 1800¢s not just army life.And finally, the decision to stay in the shelter paid dividends when it rained during the night and my tent stayed nice and dry in my back pack.
Date: 2009-06-14
From: PeterÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Mtn. Shelter

To: Rauch Gap Shelter
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: clear sky

Just your basic 17 mile day. Not much to report except 1,150 miles completed. So, let¢s talk about Radio Freq and quitting.First of all, Radio Freq has a trail journal and I urge you to read it. His shelter entries were always enjoyable and insightful; I¢m sure his journal is great.When each of us started at Springer Mountain back in March or April, each person has some experience, equipment, and determination. What we didn¢t have is any way to be sure we could so a long distance hike. But now, after 1,000 miles, each of us knows that barring injury or external emergency, we can finish the AT. So, the question becomes, do I want to? Apparently, Radio Freq answered, ¢No.¢But what about me? I can say with certainty that the AT isn¢t fun in any usual sense of the word. It is definitely a challenge ¢ more mental than physical ¢ but very much a challenge. Meeting people is fun; and there are so many very nice folks on and connected to the trail.If I can hold on for a few more weeks, I expect that I¢ll finish, it will get to the point that the additional investment in time and money and will power will be small compared to all that has been already spent.One way to get through these next few weeks is playing the ¢One state per week¢ game. West Virginia and Maryland were both less than a week. Pennsylvania should be two weeks. New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts should each be less than a week. Than two weeks each in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine and the trail is done.Well, time will tell.