morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2017-05-09
From: Calf Mountain Shelter

To: Loft Mt Campground
Miles today: 19.1

5/09/17 Loft Mountain Campground, VAMiles hiked: 571.1 Miles to go: 1619.0I stayed warm in my hammock last night. It didn't get as cold as expected and I wore all my clothes to bed. I slept really well. I am so happy to be back in my hammock. It is much more comfortable than sleeping on the ground. We were on the trail by 7:45 this morning. We were planning a 19.1 mile day, so we wanted to get an early start. We'd hoped to see Ramsey Bolton to say goodbye because he was only planning a 13.1 mile day to the next shelter. However, he was still asleep in his tent when we headed out. It was a beautiful day for hiking - full sun and highs in the 50s. 1st Sgt led out and set a pretty quick pace. I was follo I got behind, holding on for dear life. It was like hiking behind Lumber Jill into Hot Springs, only the view wasn't as nice. I guess three and a half weeks off the trail was harder on my trail legs than I'd hoped. Not to mention, 1st Sgt spent those 3 1/2 weeks getting stronger. By the time we rolled into the Black Rock Mt Hut for lunch 5 hours and 13.1 miles later, I was pretty beat! Taking the pack off, eating lunch, and resting for awhile rejuvenated me and soon we were ready to head out and finish off the last 6 miles to the Loft Mt Campground where we planned to spend the night. I suggested to 1st Sgt that he could go ahead and hike his own pace and I'd meet him at the campground. He poo-pooed  the idea and told me to go ahead and take the lead and we'd hike my pace. We made pretty quick work of the last few miles and arrived at the campground a little after 5 pm. We picked out and paid for our site, set up camp, and headed to the camp store to buy dinner. After dinner we each splurged and spent $1.75 for 5.25 minute showers. It felt wonderful. I also took the opportunity to check for ticks. We each had removed ticks from our legs as we hiked today, so I am on high alert for ticks. When we returned to our campsite, Ramsey Bolton was there! He'd decided to push on to the campground and had seen our campsite on the way to register for a site so he set up his tent with us. It appears that we will have bad storms mid-week, so the three of us took some time to plan out the next few days to try to find shelters and park facilities to minimize how much we have to set up tents and hammocks in cold rain. It will be nice to have Ramsey with us the next few days. In the "It's a Small World" category, it turns out that one of the section hikers in the site next to us lives about 10 miles away from our new home in TN. We even talked about him maybe joining me for a portion of my make-up hike in VA in the late summer. How cool is that?I find I'm a little sore tonight and I may have a small hot spot on my left foot that I will treat with Luekotape before heading out tomorrow; but, all in all, I'm pretty pleased with today's hike. It's great to be back out here.
Date: 2017-05-10
From: Loft Mt Campground

To: Hightop Hut, VA
Miles today: 15.3

5/10/17 Hightop Hut, VAMiles hiked: 584.4 Miles to go: 1613.7Today was a banner day on the trail - 1st Sgt and I saw our first black bear! We woke up to overcast skies, a possible harbinger of things to come if you look at the weather forecasts. We headed out at 7:45 AM, leaving Ramsey snoozing in his tent. It was a 2.5 mile hike to the Loft Mountain Wayside, where we planned to have a hot breakfast. The wayside was only about a mile from us if you cut through the campground; but, the AT did a big loop around the campground. And you know us and the white blazes...Today we were rewarded for our devotion to the white blazes. As we hiked around the campground, we heard a rustling in the bushes about 25 yards to our left. We both looked over in time to see a young bear looking back at us. He only stood there for a second before plunging into the brush, so we unfortunately were not able to get a picture. How cool! The rest of the morning we were on high alert watching for more bears. It's amazing how much a squirrel can sound like a bear. The wayside was located on Skyline Drive, which was 0.6 miles down a steep trail from the AT. Luckily, the breakfast was worth the steep hike back up to the AT - eggs, sausage, hash browns, toast, hot tea, and a blackberry milkshake. Of course, since it was in the park, it was expensive. We didn't get back on trail until 10:30; but, that was OK because we were doing a relatively short hike of 15.3 miles.As we hiked, the skies cleared and it turned out to be a pleasant day. There was quite a bit of up and down; but, the treadway was nice and smooth. 1st Sgt led out most of the day. He can still outpace me on the uphills; but, I'm holding my own on the downhills and flats. I also found that my feet didn't hurt as much today. I think I'm beginning to get my hiker legs back and should be up to speed by the time we leave Shenandoah National Park. If you haven't visited this park, I highly recommend it. Skyline Drive and the AT criss-cross one another along the ridgeline for 101 miles. We probably crossed Skyline Drive six times today. The views all along the way are incredible. There are several places along the way to stop for food and other essentials like blackberry shakes. Not cheap, but way convenient. The forest is a riot of colors right now. Red, yellow, blue, purple, and orange flowers everywhere. I wish I knew more about flowers so I could identify them. The forest is also alive with songbirds of every variety. Once again, I wish I could identify more of them. Also, the trees have all leafed out since I left the trail in early April. The big news on the trail is potential bad weather over the next few days. It's supposed to move in tonight and rain 1-2 inches over the next couple of days. We are staying in a shelter tonight to keep our equipment dry. Tomorrow, 1st Sgt, Ramsey, and I are planning a 20 mile day to Big Meadows Lodge, where Marguerite has reserved a room for us. Hopefully, the forecasts are wrong...
Date: 2017-05-15
From: Whiskey Hollow Shelter, VA

To: Bears Den Hostel, VA
Miles today: 18.2

5/15/17 Bears Den Hostel,  VAMiles hiked: 685.2 Miles to go: 1504.6This turned out to be a tougher day of hiking than we initially expected. We awoke to another beautiful morning. By the time I got up, took down my hammock, and packed my bag, 1st Sgt was also up and ready to go. We hit the trail around 7:30. The first 11 miles of the trail were pretty easy. We even got to play Frogger running across the four lane US Rt 250. Luckily, there was a median and traffic was light.Then things got more interesting. We entered the Roller Coaster. The Roller Coaster is an 11.5 mile section of trail with steep PUDs (Pointless Ups and Downs). About every mile, you climb up about 600 - 800 ft of steep, rocky trail. Then you descend on steep, rocky trail, rock hop across a stream, and start climbing. Lather, rinse, repeat. We spent the last seven miles of our hike in the Roller Coaster. The first couple climbs weren't too bad. By the seventh (and longest, steepest) climb, we were really feeling it in our legs. At least we've had the last several hundred miles to get conditioned. Several of the section hikers we passed were really suffering on the Roller Coaster. It turns out that one of the section hikers we met is following us on TrailJournals. Yay!Another cool thing that happened today is that 1st Sgt reached the 1000 mile mark. That's a lot of walking! I will cross the 700 mile mark tomorrow and will have 319 miles of Virginia left to hike when I summit Katahdin. I have been very content with my decision to skip ahead and rejoin the hike with 1st Sgt. We hike together really well. Besides, we've heard through the hiker grapevine that norovirus has once again broken out in the bubble further south. I am really happy to stay away from that!Tonight we are staying at the Bears Den Hostel in Bluemont, VA. The hiker hostel is located in the basement of an old mansion owned by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. For $30 we got a bunk with pillow and sheets, a shower, laundry, a 12 in pizza, a soda, a pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream (which is 1200 calories alone!) and a waffle breakfast. That's a pretty good deal!Tomorrow we will hike 20 miles into Harpers Ferry, WV where we will visit the Headquarters of the ATC and get our pictures taken for the hiker scrapbook. What's even more exciting is that we will get to have dinner with my son Sam and my soon-to-be daughter in law Caileigh. First, we have to complete the last 4 miles of the Roller Coaster...
Date: 2017-05-18
From: Dahlgren Backpacker's Campground

To: Raven Rock Shelter, MD
Miles today: 18.8
Weather: light intensity drizzle

5/18/17, Raven Rock Shelter,  MDMiles hiked: 742.8 Miles to go: 1448.0I fell asleep last night before I could write my blog and slept all night. Luckily, I woke up at 5:00 AM and wrote my blog before anyone else woke up. I was just finishing up when 1st Sgt woke up. We ate breakfast, got packed up, and were on the trail by 6:50 AM. It was a pretty tough day on the trail today. 18.8 miles, fairly rocky and hot, muggy weather. We did see some interesting sights. The first thing we came to was the first Washington Monument, completed in 1827. It looks nothing like the obelisk in DC; but, it's pretty cool nonetheless. We also crossed over I-70 on a long pedestrian bridge. 1st Sgt got the truckers to honk. We spent most of the day hiking with Gibby, a former thru hiker who is back doing a long section hike. It was just a long afternoon slogging through the heat. I drank a gallon of water during today's hike and sweated it out as fast as I put it in.The final hill to the shelter just added insult to injury. It was steep and rocky. To top it off, the spring where you get water for this shelter was 0.6 miles away down a hill. So, we all filled up our water bottles on the trail at a spot 0.7 miles before the shelter and lugged the weight of the extra water up the hill. This is a very nice shelter. It's new and big. However, mosquitoes are beginning to move in in the evenings. So, I am in my hammock with my bug net zipped. It's an interesting mix of hikers here. There are five NOBOs, including Hoops (Courtney), who arrived after hiking a 26 mile day. There are several Flip Floppers here, still nervous and figuring out how it all works. We've been very encouraging to them and suggesting that they take it easy the first couple of weeks. We also have several section hikers, so it's pretty full here tonight. Tomorrow, a friend and former coworker is taking a day off work and driving 2.5 miles just to have brunch with us. How cool is that!? Tomorrow is going to be
Date: 2017-05-23
To: Darlington Shelter, PA
Miles today: 14.0

5/23/17, Darlington Shelter, PAMiles hiked: 811.3, Miles to go: 1373.5This was a great day to see a bunch of old friends. We were up, packed, and ready to go by the time Lisa, the hostel owner, came out to get us for the ride back into town. She drove us by the ATC regional office, where we dropped our packs, and then ndropped me, 1st Sgt, and Ringer at the grocery store for resupply. We then walked the mile back to the ATC office, stopping by a diner for breakfast. In short order, we stowed our supplies, shouldered our packs, and headed out. Today's hike was probably the flattest hike we will see on the entire trail. We spent the day hiking in the Cumberland Valley. The theme for the day was "pastoral". We spent the entire day skirting wheat and corn fields, crossing fence stiles, and passing farmlands. There is still a real sense of history in the area, as we pass old stone farmhouses. We even passed a small family cemetery, where the latest date I saw on a headstone was 1889. The hike went very fast, even after we took time in Carlisle to visit the Middlesex Diner for lunch. Soon, we were leaving the Cumberland Valley behind and climbing a steep rocky path to the shelter. The spring at the shelter is unreliable, so we loaded up with extra water at a spring about a mile before the shelter and lugged the extra weight up a fairly steep rocky trail. The shelter is pretty busy tonight. There are several Flip Floppers who are now about 100 miles into their hikes. You can see the confidence and comfort levels growing in them all. We also are staying with Ringer, Cheap Sunglasses, and Rabbit, whom we've been seeing quite a bit in the past few days. We also ran into Gibby again, who we thought was miles ahead of us. Best of all, though, was the arrival of Darwin & Company. They've all just returned from Trail Days and put in a 26 mile day. I haven't seen any of them since Roan Mountain. I was so excited to see Lumber Jill, Strider, Oz, Winter, Glim Glom, Wet Wipes, Darwin, and Legs again. The best part is that they were genuinely glad to see me again, even though they were all amazed with my short hair and trimmed beard. Unfortunately, with me and 1st Sgt going off-trail for the weekend, they will quickly pull ahead of us again; but, it was great to see them even for one night. I have heard from several people that a bug in the "new and improved" TrailJournals is preventing them from posting to my guest page. If you would like to message me while they are getting the bug fixed, you can email me at rmillerwv@gmail.com.
Date: 2017-05-25
From: Doyle Hotel, Duncannon, PA

To: Knoxville, TN
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

5/25/17, Knoxville, TNMiles hiked: 822.2,  Miles to go: 1362.6We survived our night in the Doyle Hotel. I checked for bed bugs before going to bed last night and didn't see anything; but, I still chose to use my ground cloth and down quilt rather than sleep on the sheets. Although this appeared to be the perfect haunted hotel, no rattling chains or moaning, ethereal, floating bodies - just snoring. It also poured the rain all night - a good night to be inside. I awoke around 5:30 AM and went to the bathroom down the hall (only one per floor). On my way back, I passed Gibby's room. He was up, had the door open, and was packing up. He invited us to go to breakfast with him. When I went to get my shoes, 1st Sgt was waking up. So, he got up and joined us. We left Good Life sleeping on the floor. We went across the street to the diner and had breakfast. Gibby had pancakes. They were huge! He couldn't finish two of them. Our server told us that they had a pancake challenge. Seven was the most ever eaten. After breakfast, Gibby headed out for the trail and we went back to our room to pack. We told Good Life about the challenge when he woke up. He immediately headed to the diner to take it on. When we finished packing, we headed over to see how he was doing. The challenge absolutely crushed him. Four and a half pancakes and he was done. The diner owner kept warning him not to blow chunks on her floor. He managed to make it out of the diner without getting sick; but, he was looking awfully green around the gills. He had a couple more hours until 1st Sgt's wife arrived. So, we walked down to the Old Sled Works. It was as a factory that made Liberty runner sleds until it closed in 1990. It has been repurposed into a huge consignment shop. We walked around for a couple of hours looking at cool stuff and a bunch of junk; but, we didn't find anything we couldn't live without. Eventually, we made our way back down the street to the Doyle, where Christine was meeting us. In short order, she arrived and we jumped in the car and headed down I-81 to Kingsport, TN. I-81 roughly parallels the AT. The long car ride really drove home just how far we've already come - and we are only half way!Marguerite met us at Kingsport, TN, and we came back home. The dogs were all happy to see me (as was Marguerite). It'll be nice to be home for a couple of days. With rested feet and sturdier shoes, we will be ready to attack the rocks of Rocksylvania next week.
Date: 2017-05-28
From: Knoxville, TN

To: Carlisle, PA
Miles today: 0.0

G5/28/17, Carlisle, PAMiles hiked: 822.2,  Miles to go: 1362.6I have been a bit remiss in writing my blog this weekend. I had an immensely enjoyable time at home with Marguerite and the dogs and just never found time to write. We didn't do anything out of the ordinary. We just spent an enjoyable weekend at home. I was happy to find that I still liked our little house this weekend as much as I did when I left a month ago. It had been a whirlwind moving in and I had left before I really had time to get used to being in our new home. It will be even nicer once the planned renovations are completed. I had a couple "honey-do" projects to complete that I hadn't gotten done before I left last time. That meant several trips to Lowe's. And then several more to return things and buy new things. After the requisite number of Lowe's trips to satisfy the Home Improvement Gods, I successfully completed my projects. I also managed to find time to have breakfast with my old hiking buddy Blood Mountain. He was in town for a few days resting his battered feet. Marguerite and I met him at Trio Cafe on Market Square in downtown Knoxville. Afterward, we did some shopping at Mast General Store. Since I was once again remiss in not getting a picture of Blood Mountain at breakfast, I have included a picture of him being chased by a dinosaur. The rest of the weekend absolutely flew by, filled with such chores as resupplying for the next four days (heavy pack, ugh!), replacing my worn out trail runners with sturdier Keen hikers, and re-evaluating everything in my pack to try to eliminate a few more ounces of weight. We had a violent storm pass through Knoxville yesterday evening, knocking out the power. I was happy to be inside, out of the weather. At about 3:30 AM, the power was restored and we quickly discovered which lights had been left on throughout the house. Before long, it was time for Marguerite to return me to Kingsport to meet up with 1st Sgt and Christine. It was a bit of a melancholy ride. I'm excited to tackle the rest of the trail; however, I probably won't see Marguerite again until August. Bleah!  The ride to Carlisle was uneventful. We had dinner at the Middlesex Diner, where we had lunch when we passed through last week. Tomorrow, we will return to the Doyle in Duncannon and continue our inexorable march toward Katahdin.
Date: 2017-05-29
From: Carlisle, PA

To: Stealth campsite, PA
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: scattered clouds

5/29/17, Carlisle, PAMiles hiked: 845.4 Miles to go: 1344.4I awoke in my motel room in Carlisle, PA, to pouring rain. Yuck. 1st Sgt, his wife Christine, and I decided to forego the continental breakfast in the motel and go to Waffle House and wait out the rain. We timed it just right, so by the time we finished breakfast and drove back to the Doyle Hotel the rain had passed. 1st Sgt and I shouldered our packs and headed out hiking, while Christine headed for the airport for her flight back to Texas. It was a typical town departure day - full bellies, heavy packs, and, after walking through town and across the river, a long rocky climb to the ridge. We both quickly decided that the sturdier Keen boots were much better on our feet than our trail runners. The rain had passed; however, the woods were dripping and the humidity was around 90%. So, of course, my glasses fogged. Bummer. It was also a very short time until our crisp, clean clothes were drenched with sweat. So much for clean laundry. The trail was fairly rocky; however, once we gained the ridge, it was pretty smooth sailing. So, we made pretty good time and the morning passed quickly.  We saw several people out hiking and, of course, stopped to talk to all of them. As we crossed the pedestrian bridge over PA  225, we saw a sign that makes any thru hiker's heart flutter: "Trail Magic Today!"  It went on to say that all thru hikers were invited to a nearby cabin for a Memorial Day picnic. It turns out that the cabin is owned by four brothers in their 80s. They have been hosting a Memorial Day picnic for their families for the past 22 years and always invite thru hikers. What a great picnic it was, too! Burgers, dogs, various side salads, beans, sandwich fixings, sodas, beer, and wine. And desserts! Lots of desserts! And everyone was so welcoming! Of course, we stayed too long and ate too much; but, we finally hit the trail again around 2:00 pm. By the time we reached the next shelter it was 4:00 pm. The problem was, with our late start and impromptu picnic, we'd only covered 11.5 miles. This is a difficult section logistically because the shelters and water sources are scarce on the ridgeline. After debating and studying the map, we decided to press on a few more miles. It feels like we have been creeping through Pennsylvania. We finally stopped at a nice camp spot a little after 6:00 pm and 16.1 miles. There's no water here; however, we carried enough with us to get us to a water source in the morning. It's pretty breezy here on the ridge; but, it looks like we shouldn't get any rain until we've had time to pack everything away in the morning. I hate packing up a wet tarp! The weekend at home was nice and I really miss Marguerite; but, it's good to be back out here knocking down the miles.
Date: 2017-06-02
From: Rock and Sole Hostel

To: Eckville Shelter, PA
Miles today: 15.0

6/2/17, Eckville Shelter, PAMiles hiked: 915.3 Miles to go: 1274.5After a wonderful breakfast at Rock and Sole Hostel prepared by Jodi, 1st Sgt and I were shuttled back by Craig to the pavilion at Port Clinton to continue our hike. When we arrived, who should we see but our old buddy Ramsey Bolton! It's funny how we continue to cross paths with all our friends. Craig suggested we stop by the Port Clinton Barbershop on our way out of town and grab a donut. The barbershop is very hiker friendly and offers free donuts and coffee to all. 1st Sgt decided that it was time to trim up his beard anyway and I'm always ready to eat a donut, so we headed over.What a cool place! The barbers are father and son. The son is 69 and the father is 90! There were rocking chairs, coffee, tea, donuts, and cookies. And great music! We ended up hanging out and talking to the barbers for quite awhile after Sarge got his beard trimmed by the father. Eventually, we shouldered our packs and headed through town and into the woods. The morning sun was shining in our eyes so I went to pull my hat brim down further. That's when I realized that my hat was sitting in the barbershop. Crap! 1st Sgt hung out with the packs while I ran back through town to the barbershop and retrieved my hat. We finally started hiking in earnest around 10:30 AM. Luckily, we only had 15 miles to hike today. As usual when leaving town, we climbed. This climb wasn't too bad and eventually we attained the ridge and cruised along. The rocks are still a nuisance because you spend the entire hike looking at your feet. It actually takes quite a bit of concentration and if you let your guard down you might find yourself on the ground. In fact, we heard that our friend Good Life took a bad spill, landed on his chin, and had a possible concussion. Apparently, he's off the trail at least temporarily and maybe for good. We had a couple of nice views from overlooks today and the second half of the hike was downhill on wide and fairly smooth trail. So, we were able to move it out and arrived at Eckville Shelter a little after 5:00 PM. We were met at the shelter by Hoops and Sitting Bull. As usual, it was nice to see them. Hoops was moving on to the next shelter because she has to go off trail for a few days and is trying to get in some extra miles before she leaves. Sitting Bull decided to stick with us and will hike with us the next few days so he doesn't get too far ahead of Hoops. There are about 15 people at the shelter tonight. Most people are tenting; however, 1st Sgt and I were able to snag two of the six bunks built into this shelter. Rain is predicted for the morning, so by sleeping in the shelter we will be able to keep our equipment dry. Once again, this turned out to be a pleasant day on the trail.