morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2021-05-29
From: Cow Camp Gap Shelter

To: Tentsite
Miles today: 21.4
Weather: light rain

I tented about 100 yards from the shelter last night. At 1:44am, I heard something like a gunshot coming from the direction of the shelter. Later, after I packed up and walked by the shelter, I saw that two more people had showed up after I went to bed. They said they heard the sound, too, and though it came from the direction of my tent. It must have been a falling tree.I made the 0.6 mile trek from the shelter up to the main trail and began the hike to fish Hatchery Road. Spoiler: it doesn't join the AT at all. It connects to Spy Rock Road, which apparently is now a private road. I didn't know until I reached the end. I eventually did make it to the general store in Montebello and was able to resupply. It wasn't fun hauling a heavy pack up the 1.6 mile incline. I passed the shelter I was going to stay at. It has been raining nearly all day and the shelter is on top of a mountain. I pushed past it to a small, unofficial tent site. I don't think there is even room for a second tent. I set up in the rain for the first time. It wasn't bad. I'm comfortable in my tent, it's still raining, and I don't want to leave.I hiked a total of 3.6 miles today that didn't count and still managed an official 21.4 miles on the AT. Not bad!I think I can also talk about an issue I had, now that it is resolved. To avoid disposable q-tips, I brought a reusable silicone q-tip. I was using it last night and the tip came off INSIDE my ear. It was in far enough that I couldn't feel it with my finger. I tried to extract it with the tweezers from my Swiss army knife, but they are square on the end and couldn't grab it. I wasn't in pain and could hear okay, so I decided to leave it in there and buy some real tweezers today during resupply. If those didn't work, I would go to the ER when I hiked into a bigger town. Thankfully, I was able to get it out tonight without any trouble. It was scary not knowing what was going to happen, in addition to everything I have to worry about on trail.
Date: 2021-05-30
From: Tentsite

To: Paul Wolfe Shelter
Miles today: 25.0
Weather: overcast clouds

It rained most of the night and early morning. When I woke up, it had stopped raining, but everything was soaked. I packed up my wet tent and headed down trail. It took me a little longer than usual to settle into a groove because the weather was very cold. I slept in my beanie for the first time in several days and early morning was just as cold. The ascents made me sweat and the descents made me freeze.Just as I was feeling pretty low, a SOBO section hiker told me there was trail magic ahead! I instantly felt better and made good time to the trailhead where there was hot chocolate and donuts waiting. The trail angel was "Belle", who had attempted a thru-hike a little earlier in the year.I met up with "Pretzel" and later "Munchie", both of whom I had met at the Montebello store the day before. I hiked with each of them for a bit before parting ways. Having someone to talk to made the time fly by! Before I knew it, I was at camp. I set up my tent so it could dry out, did trail laundry, and dried laundry by the campfire (mostly). There is a group of section hikers here. They are all very nice and shared some food with me. At this point, all calories are good calories.
Date: 2021-05-31
From: Paul Wolfe Shelter

To: Blackrock Hut
Miles today: 25.7
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke up cold in the middle of the night. It got down to 45, which is about 10 degrees cooler than it has been. I had to put on my beanie and pull my sleeping bag up over my face.The morning was cold, too. I started the day in my rain jacket and gloves and didn't take them off until I was a mile or two into the Shenandoahs. The terrain here is rolling and non-technical. It was Memoriak Day today, so plenty of families were out enjoying the park. In the morning, there were a ton of trail runners, some in groups and some with their dogs.I have been experiencing hip pain for the past day or so. I think I strained something yesterday when I slid off trail. I have been taking off my hip belt for 5-10 minutes at a time. It helps, but I worry that it might be the start of something more severe.Doubt and dark thoughts often creep in throughout the day and it's a battle keeping them at bay. Just when I was in a bad place around noon, I found amazing trail magic! I had two cheeseburgers, a slice of watermelon, and piece of Apple pie. Incredible. After that, I was super motivated and increased my pace all the way to camp.I was the first one at camp again today and picked the best tent spot. Over a dozen other people have showed up since then and I feel bad for how some of them had to pitch their tents.
Date: 2021-06-01
From: Blackrock Hut

To: Hightop Hut
Miles today: 21.4
Weather: broken clouds

I didn't sleep especially well at Blackrock Hut. The tent sites there were all varying forms of terrible. Mine had a slant, but at least it was a good distance from the other tents.When I was eating breakfast, I decided to finish the last third of a jar of peanut butter so I didn't have to carry it. My spoon broke in half! Good thing I was headed for resupply.I hit the trail at 6am, knowing it would be a short day at a little over 21 miles. However, I would need some time to resupply at the nearby camp store. I made it there around 8:40am and they didn't open until 9am. I used that time to use the power outlets to start charging my batteries and fill my water bottles. They didn't have a great selection of food, but I made it work. I was also able to replace my spoon. For anyone keeping track, that is spoon #3. The highlight of my resupply was an Oreo milkshake from the machine. It wasn't great, but it was a milkshake...in the middle of the woods. When I grabbed my batteries off of the charger, they were nearly full! Great resupply stop.The rest of the day was pretty uneventful with the exception of some trail magic I found at a trailhead. Someone had left saltwater taffy and dunkaroos. I put them in my pack and made good time to camp, arriving around 3:15pm. It took a few hours, but the camp eventually filled up with people, several of which I had seen on trail earlier.Tomorrow should be similar. I don't need to resupply, but there is another store about 11.5 miles down trail. I will definitely stop if it isn't too far off trail.
Date: 2021-06-02
From: Hightop Hut

To: Rock Spring Hut
Miles today: 23.9
Weather: scattered clouds

I slept better last night than I have since hitting the trail in April. I woke up at 4:30am before my alarm and was a little disoriented. Usually, I wake every 2-3 hours, so I thought it was much earlier.The first goal of the day was to make good time to the next camp store, which was 11.5 miles away. If I was fast enough, I would have time to enjoy a big snack, take off my shoes, and relax for a few minutes. I made it there at 10am and grabbed as much food as I thought I could eat in 15-20 minutes, including a donut from the store's Hiker box (!!!). 1500 calories and 15 minutes later, I was headed back to the trail.The next thing on my agenda was to get some new orthotics ordered for my shoes. The ones I'm using are about 4 years old and the AT has not been kind to them. I hate to tear up a new set of $270 inserts, but I can't hike without them.I pushed on and didn't see many thru-hikers on trail. There were several day hikers and a few section hikers. The terrain was very easy, with one rocky stretch, a couple of climbs, and a flat stretch. I made outstanding time and rolled into camp at 3pm on the dot. I was the first one, as usual. I didn't see anyone else until 5pm. After that, a steady stream of thru-hikers and section hikers arrived at camp, several of whom I had seen at Hightop Hut the night before.I made a campfire and cooked on it. One of the section hikers packed out a bag of marshmallows and we roasted them.It was a great day.
Date: 2021-06-03
From: Rock Spring Hut

To: Gravel Spring Hut
Miles today: 28.4
Weather: broken clouds

Today went pretty much as I expected, but it was far from a normal day. First, I woke up at 4am to get a 5am start on trail. That isn't something I do unless I'm trying to push bigger miles and today was a 28-mile day.Less than an hour into the hike, I was at Skyland Resort, the largest in the Shenandoah's. The smell of breakfast cooking in the dining hall wafted across the trail for what seemed like and eternity. I really wanted to stop and I was starving, but I kept going. I ran into a construction detour that took me about 0.5 miles off trail. Not more than 5 minutes after I was back on the actual AT, I saw four people. Two were in regular street clothes and two were in what looked like wedding attire. I asked if they were going to get married and they replied that the just did! I guess they were married on a summit at sunrise. They were a lovely couple and let me take their photo.About two hours later, I saw my first Bear on the AT. It was a small, black Bear. As soon as he saw me, he ran away. I banged my trekking poles together for a few hundred yards, just in case any other bears were around, but none appeared.Some time later, I saw a large bull snake, probably 5-6 feet in length. It was sun bathing across the trail. I politely walked around it after taking a photo.On my way down the mountain to Elkwallow Wayside, I saw a trail runner wearing a BLM cape (yes, like a super hero). He said it didn't keep him cool, but it got the message out. Seemed like an interesting guy.When I made it to Elkwallow at 1:15pm, I ordered a cheeseburger, potato salad, and a blackberry shake. Wow! It was the best thing I had eaten in at least 9 days, maybe longer. I also bought a couple of snacks to stuff in my pack for later.I wasn't the first person to camp today, arriving around 4pm. There was a group of section hikers who had arrived just before. I quickly picked a tent space and set up camp. About a minutes after I was finished, it started raining. I crawled into my tent for 45 minutes until it stopped, then proceeded with my routine. Two more hikers showed up a little later. It's a relatively chill Campsite tonight.Tomorrow, I will be hiking about 14 miles to a hostel near Front Royal, where I have a reservation.
Date: 2021-06-04
From: Gravel Spring Hut

To: Mountain Home Cabbin
Miles today: 13.7
Weather: light rain

Today was an easy day. I hiked out of the Shenandoah's through easy terrain and made it to the hostel where I'm staying the night. It is a very old,, renovated building next to a historic house, near the town of Front Royal, VA.I arrived at 10:45am, about an hour ahead of schedule. I hung out for about two hours, then got a ride into town. I mostly needed new shoes and food resupply.I picked up another pair of Altra Olympus 4's. They have been great shoes and lasted nearly 500 miles. I also picked up a waterproof dry bag to replace my Ursak Allmitey. It is too heavy, too bulky, absorbs water, and takes too long to dry out.Food resupply was at a grocery store called Martin's. It was great! They had a deli, bakery, and nearly everything I was looking for.I was also able to eat a great lunch with a ton of calories. I am positively stuffed. I think I ate over 4000 calories today.Tomorrow morning will be a late start. I need to get my clothes back from the hostel (laundry service) and breakfast isn't until 6:30. I probably won't be on trail until 7:30 or 8 and it will be a 23 mile day.I also checked my average mileage for the hike and it is now 22.3. That is more or less where I want it to be. I will continue to push miles where I can because I know there will be some slow days in the future. Nevertherless, I am now at the point where each day completed is another 1% of the hike.
Date: 2021-06-05
From: Mountain Home Cabbin

To: Rod Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 23.3
Weather: clear sky

I slept in and ate a 6:30am breakfast at the hostel this morning. It was an egg scramble, with vegetables and cheese. Also, fresh fruit and apple juice. After paying for my stay, I left and was back on trail around 7:15.The terrain today was very easy, but it was HOT. The forecast said the high would be 90 and I'm sure that was accurate. I sweated profusely most of the day and drank plenty of water.Mid morning, I started hearing a sound another Hiker confirmed was cicadas. As I hiked through dense concentrations of them, they became incredibly loud, sometime following this undulating rhythm.I was a little bored with the terrain and wanted music to drown out the sound of the cicadas. While I was messing with my phone, I dropped to my knees. I hiked full speed into a large tree that was across the trail. It was at a height to hit me squarely in the bridge of the nose. I don't think my nose is broken, but it is very sore. I ran into Bluebird, a hiker from two nights ago who I had also seen yesterday in Front Royal. She ran into the same tree! That made me feel a little less like an idiot.I will be waking up super early and making a 30 mile push into Harper's Ferry. I hope to beat the heat and have a couple of hours to explore the town. I also need another 3 days of food. I will be staying at the Clarion hotel. I think there is a hostel in town, but I couldn't get them to answer the phone, so hotel it is.
Date: 2021-06-06
From: Rod Hollow Shelter

To: Clarion Inn
Miles today: 29.5
Weather: light rain

I woke up at 3am today and hit the trail at 4:10am. This was definitely my earliest day on the AT. It was even more difficult because I didn't sleep well last night. It was hot, making it difficult to fall asleep. Then, the temperature dropped and I woke up with a chill, crawling into my sleeping bag.I knew it would be a long, hot day. I also knew I would be doing a part of the trail called the Roller Coaster. I looked at the elevation profile and it didn't look terrible. It went up up and down in small amounts, usually around 600-800 feet at a time. What it didn't show is the type of terrain. Unfortunately, it was mostly rock, which is punishing on the feet and slow to traverse. After about 14 miles, I finally made it through. That included a lot of congestion created by day hikers out on a Sunday.The rest of the day was a little easier, but still rocky. My feet are sore and all of the joints in my legs hurt. It would be a while before they got to rest because my hotel was over a mile uphill from the AT. After checking in, taking a shower, and eating at the hotel restaurant, I had to walk down to the 7-11 to buy resupply for the next three days. I managed to put something together from what they had and some extra food I had from the last resupply in Front Royal. I am exhausted.I should also mention crossing a state line for the first time since May 12th. Virginia was a long haul and a beautiful state. No other state has more AT miles.Trail magic was very active today! That helped get me through some rough spots. One guy walking down the trail gave me a huge, delicious cookie from a local bakery. The owner of The Hiker Yearbook gave me a Dr. Pepper. A random guy on the side of the road in Harper's Ferry gave me a small, ice-cold Gatorade. People are wonderful. Tomorrow is a 26-mile day to Pogo Memorial Campsite.
Date: 2021-06-07
From: Clarion Inn

To: Pogo Memorial Campsite
Miles today: 26.6
Weather: light rain

I woke up in a comfortable and air conditioned hotel room and am going to sleep sweating in a tent on trail. I've done it before, but it never gets any easier.Breakfast at the hotel wasn't served until 6:30 and it was just grab-and-go, so I skipped it and just ate in my room. The earliest I could make the road wall down to the Trail head was 5:30am. I was on trail by 6am. I strolled through Harper's Ferry and took a bunch of photos. The Shenandoah and Potomac rivers were beautiful at sunrise.Hiking out of Harper's Ferry was lovely and most of the terrain the rest of the day was easy. It was lt flat, but there wasn't a huge amount of elevation change. However, I still had 26.6 miles to hike, so I pushed.I saw several Civil War sites today and The Washington Monument. No, not the iconic one in Washington DC, but the very first one erected 60 years earlier. I never even knew it existed.I found trail magic for the second day in a row! Big Rig, a 2020 thru-hiker, had left an ice chest full of soda, powerade, pop tarts, and candy bars. I chugged a powerade and pocketed a pop tart (I'll eat it during my big day tomorrow).The Campsite I'm staying at tonight is not great. It has a bear pole for food bags and technically has a privy, though the old one is in terrible shape and the new one is under construction.I will be waking up early tomorrow to beat the heat. It will be another 29.5 mile day.
Date: 2021-06-08
From: Pogo Memorial Campsite

To: Quarry Gap Shelters
Miles today: 35.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I'm not sure what I thought would happen today, but it was different. I knew it would be a big day. I had another 29.5 mile day scheduled to round out my triple marathon and set me up for a hostel tomorrow.I woke at 4am for a 5am start and made good time through the rest of Maryland. I knew some trail magic was scheduled from 9-11am at a park just before the state line. I made it there at 10:15 and the trail angels were just setting up. One was a fellow thru-hiker taking a couple of days off and the other was her partner. The trail magic was awesome, but I had to move on. About two hours later, I found MORE trail magic. They tried to convince me to eat a hot dog, but I had just eaten lunch and I had a lot at the previous trail magic. First world Hiker problems!I made it to the scheduled shelter around 4:30pm and another Hiker was at the turn off. He didn't want to go down 0.3 miles to the shelter and another 0.3 miles to the water source. We decided to push on to the state park 3.2 miles down trail. I noticed there was a burger shop 0.5 miles down the road as well, so that had me motivated.I made it to the state park, but the office was closed. They wanted people to drop their money in an envelope. A Campsite without electricity or anything was $25! No way. I called the burger shop that was supposed to close at 9pm. They were closing at 7pm instead and it was 5:45 at that time, so I booked it down the road. The burger was great. The fries and milkshake...meh.I walked back to the Park drinking my milkshake and felt right as rain. A bunch of hikers were hanging out at a couple of picnic tables. We decided to push on ~2 miles to the next shelter.This is the nicest shelter I have ever seen. There are flowers, decorations, picnic tables, and wooden tent platforms. There is artwork and an air freshener in the privy! And wood paneling! Ridiculous.It was a heck of a day. I am exhausted. 35.0 miles is my new best and I never want to do it again, but I regret nothing.
Date: 2021-06-09
From: Quarry Gap Shelters

To: Ironmasters Mansion Hostel
Miles today: 17.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was an easy day. I was up at 5am and on trail around 5:50. It rained last night and early this morning, so I had to pack up my tent soaking wet. It did cool the temperature, though.The terrain was some of the easiest I've encountered. Much of it was rolling and free of rocks or roots. There were a couple of parts with medium-sized rocks, perfect for hopping across. I was headed to Ironmasters Mansion, which is next to Pine Grove Furnace General Store, home of the half-gallon challenge. I made it there at 11:30am. Finishing 17.3 miles in 5 hours 40 minutes is right at 3 mph - not bad!The half-gallon challenge exists because the store is just past the halfway point of the AT. Eat a half gallon of ice cream and you get a little wooden spoon, stamped with "Half Gallon Club". I'm not sure if it's part of the challenge, but I aimed for less than a half hour and made it in 28 minutes. I was talking to some other hikers who were eating burgers made at the store. I mentioned how it was unfortunate I wouldn't be able to eat real food because my lunch was ice cream. A non-hiker must have overheard and offered me half of her cheeseburger. I was a little hesitant, but accepted and was able to eat it!After taking a shower and doing laundry, I made it back to the store for dinner - a hiker burger, fries, and a lemonade. Second dinner was a larger pizza a couple hours later. I am eating more than I have in my entire life. It's hard work!Tomorrow, the plan is to make it 26.6 miles. That will put me in the middle of a bad part of trail which has little water and next to no camping available. The terrain looks pretty flat. I'm fairly certainly it is VERY Rocky. Welcome to Rockslyvania.
Date: 2021-06-10
From: Ironmasters Mansion Hostel

To: Super 8
Miles today: 27.1
Weather: overcast clouds

I didn't know exactly what to expect from today, but I knew the terrain would be flat. There was a 14-mile stretch of trail marked as having very little water or camping. I had 19.3 miles of trail before even reaching that point, so my plan was to bisect the dry section and stay at a hotel 0.4 miles away from the trail.There was a little boulder hopping in the morning and some smaller rocks after that. Then, the AT passed through a couple of miles of fields. The signs stated they were AT farm lands and were planted to preserve the historic pastoral setting. Around 12:30pm, I was in Boiling Springs, PA. That was my last chance to fill up on water. Also, there was a gas station a block from trail where I bought a delicious wrap and a slushy. I was back on trail before 1pm.The rest of the day was super flat and twisted through trees and bushes. I met a guy named Slide who I had heard about a few days ago. We talked for a while, but he was doing a 40-mile day and I had to peel off for the hotel after my 27-mile day.This hotel is not nice, but it is air conditioned and better than a tent. Tomorrow, I will pick up my second resupply box in Duncannon and resupply for the next couple of days at a truck stop. Exciting! Lol
Date: 2021-06-11
From: Super 8

To: Campsite
Miles today: 21.8
Weather: heavy intensity rain

Today was the biggest resupply I've done on trail and I adjusted my mileage accordingly. I made it from the hotel to the trailhead at 5:30am. Early morning, the hiking was wonderful. The weather was cool, but not cold. The bugs weren't bothering me. The terrain was mostly flat and free of rocks and roots. About 3-4 miles from Duncannon, the rocks started and there was a fairly steep descent. I still made it to the post office at 11:45am and had to wait until they re-opened at noon. I was able to pick up my resupply box. New underwear, a new brace for my left leg (yep, still wearing it), new front pack, new water bottle holders, cork ball for rolling out my feet, new shorts, new compactor bag to line my pack, new zip lock bags, new Opsak, new pot coozie, and some food. It was a lot and took me some time to sort through it.Then, it was on to the nearby truck stop to pick up a couple of days of food. I also bought a 6" sub from the Subway inside (because, hiker hunger). I had to sort through all of that and pack it in the parking lot. It was a mess and felt like it took forever.There was a steep climb out of Duncannon. It was only about 2 miles, but slow going due to TONS of rock and some bouldering. Also, it had started raining, making the rock slick and dangerous. I guess this is my life now. Rockin' the AT all the way through the rest of PA. I arrived at the campsite at 3:15pm and set up in the rain. It is now 4:45pm and the rain is showing no sign of letting up. At least I have four bars of 4G cell service! Lol.