morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-06-16
From: Punchbowl Shelter

To: US 60
Miles today: 11.3

We had a plan for the beginning of the day but not so much for the end of the day which always leads to an interesting end. It was hot and humid from the start today,it seems we have hit the realm of the Southern summer and it's not the greatest ingredients for a happy hike. Our plan was to get to US 60 and meet up with Atlas's friend who was going to bring some trail magic.   We didn't rush too much with the hike today and we probably couldn't if we tried. The heat and humidity sucks the energy from you so all you can do is drink as much water and eat when you can. We hit a big milestone today and crossed the 800 mile mark,these milestones seems to be happening quicker and quicker,it's a bit worrisome this trip is going be over before I know it. After some ups and downs we had a nice hike along Brown Mountain Creek which has some history behind it as free slaves built a small community here in the late 1800's. We had our first encounter with a really odd man who made me feel a little uncomfortable and made me put up my guard. He was an eccentric guy who had lots of energy and just talked about the history of the slave community but he would leave and then come running down the trail a few minutes later with another tidbit of information and then runoff again. Thankfully he left wafted awhile and nothing bad happened.   We got to US 60 around two and Atlas's friend was running late and wouldn't be there until six so we had plenty of time to relax. The whole time we say there we only saw three thru hikers pass by which is a real quiet day, it seems everyone was effected by the hear today. Yogi and Scout came by and need to hitch into Buena Vista for a resupply which took then awhile but an eighteen wheeler stopped and gave them a ride,it's was pretty impressive.Eventually Gadget and Delaware showed up,they camped somewhere else the night before so the gang was back together. Soon after Atlas's friend showed up and was nice enough to bring us pizza,beer,soda and some fruit and we sat there talking for awhile about the trail,he's hiked almost the entire trail so he was a wealth of information and very motivational too,thanks Blackbird.   It as late when he left and the trail went up two thousand feet over Bald Knob so we're camping near the trailhead and starting early tomorrow. Almost time for the Shenadoahs, trying to wrap up Virginia in a few weeks and head up north.
Date: 2014-06-17
From: US 60

To: The Priest Shelter
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: few clouds

The few times I've slept next to highways on the trail has been some of the best sleep I've had,there's nothing like waking up to tractor trailers struggling up a mountain as your wake up call. We were all up early and knew we had to get over Bald Knob which was a pretty big uphill but at this point you come to the realization that this is what we signed up for and no matter how much complaining you do you still have to get over the mountain so shut up and do it. We got up and over Bald Knob and weren't rewarded with a view so we kept in going and met a southbounder who said there was trail magic four miles up so that put some pep in our step. The weather was beautiful yet again and we had some great views walking across these open meadows with mountain surrounding us. These open areas have been more abundant lately and as a result I've been getting some wicked sunburn on my shoulders,I never wore a tang top whole hiking so I forgot to out sunscreen on,lesson learned. We got the trail magic and it was from Goman, a 2012 thru hiker, and his wife who put out a cooler of soda and Gatorade in ice and another cooler with value snacks including honeybuns,Twix,moon pies and other things. This was about halfway into our day so it hit the spot and gave us the boost to keep going, we were aiming for another twenty mile day so this helped immensely.    We didn't see too many hikers out on the trail and the names in the trail journals are mostly unfamiliar which means we're probably in between hiker bubbles. There's still another town before the Shenandoahs with a lot of things to do so that will slow down some hikers and people will group up again. Before the shelter we climbed Spy Rock which was a huge boulder the Confederates used to see troops coming from the north, it had a nice view and the wind was blowing nicely so it was cool to go up.   We reached the shelter around 6:30 and it was pretty buggy due to the spring being right next to the shelter,it's a weird feeling when all you hear is buzzing all around you and can't see where or what is making the noise. Since this is the Priest shelter, the shelter journal was hiker confessionals of things they've done on the trail and all I can say is I've been having a rather bland thru hike compared to some of these people and wouldn't be surprised if some hiker babies were conceived out here. Thankfully the log was full so I couldn't put my confessions in the log but I've been good out here so I didn't have much to put in (hi mom and dad).   We stayed at a campsite before the shelter and made a fire and hung out for a bit. It seems like twenty mile days are the new normal for us but it still takes a lot out of you so we went to bed pretty early. Tomorrow we're going to go to hike fifteen miles and find a way to a brewpub that let's hikers camp there so nothing like local beers,food and then camping out back,sounds like a winning combination to me.
Date: 2014-06-19
From: Reeds Gap

To: Paul C Wolfe Shelter
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: scattered clouds

As exciting as yesterday was, today was a mundane day on the trail. The trail itself was easy but we were all feeling lazy and we too a out time in doing those miles. Our plan is to go into Waynesboro tomorrow to celebrate Gadget's birthday and to resupply before we enter the Shenandoahs for the final stretch of Virginia. The town has lot to good stores and restaurants so I have some errands to run, time to send the quilt home and use something lighter for the rest of the summer and I need to find an outfit for Hike Naked Day which is Saturday, hoping to find some short track shorts and a new shirt, no nakedness for this guy.
Date: 2014-06-20
From: Paul C Wolfe Shelter

To: Waynesboro,VA
Miles today: 5.1
Weather: broken clouds

The shelter was empty last night as most people took the plunge and hiked the extra five miles to Waynesboro while we opted to hike it in the morning. We had a nice relaxing dinner together in the shelter with some music and incense burning, we saw another group do it once at a shelter and it was relaxing so we adopted the trend plus it keeps the bugs away.    We were up early so we can get into town at a good time so we could run errands but mostly so we could to the all you can eat buffet as quickly as possible. The five miles weren't bad and we got to Rockfish Gap in a few hours and there was a list of trail angels we could call and they would give us a ride into town for free. It's really amazing the generosity that people have for thru hikers,a the trail brings people together in all kind of way. Thankfully Miss Lady picked us up in her pickup truck and gave us a tour of Waynesboro before dropping us off at the campground in town that we were going to stay for the night. Waynesboro is a great town that actually felt like a town, it had a Main Street that had awesome places for eat and shop and everything was centrally located for the most part. Most of the towns we go through seem desolate but Waynesboro was a true community and treated thru hikers with such generosity. They set up a field for thru hikers to camp at with porta potties and a pavilion that had a solar charger attached so we could charge our phones. Afterwards we went across the street to the YMCA which provided free showers,it was a communal shower but luckily I was the lone man there. Then we went to the Chinese buffet which was like coming downstairs Christmas morning,so much food and even all you can sushi, we were gluttonous and we didn't have no shame,all for 9.99. Like Thanksgiving,some went back to the campground to nap while I went to the sports bar to watch the World Cup and stayed there for awhile.   Once I got my fix of soccer I went back to the campground and everyone wanted to go to Hardee's for food which was about a mile away. We gorged on food there but we to stay there longer than we wanted as a bad storm passed through and we waited until at least the lightning wasn't too bad before we ventured out. We walked back and got soaked but luckily a guy with a pick up truck picked us up halfway and drove us back, we got pelted with cold rain and wind but it was better than walking.   We arrived to a pretty disastrous situation as the rain took down Atlas's tent and everything inside was soaked and Delaware's rain flap flipped up and the inside of her hammock was soaked. At this point we didn't have many options and went to a hotel and would go back in the morning to clean up the situation and hopefully dry everything.
Date: 2014-06-21
From: Waynesboro,VA

To: Calf Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: broken clouds

We were people on a mission and had things to do so we were up early and out of the hotel early. We had to go back to the campground and clean up the mess of last night,resupply on food and head back to the trail. Today was an eventful day-summer solstice, Gadgets birthday and finally Hike Naked Day. I'm not sure the history of Hike Naked Day but we were entering the Shenadoahs today which has a lot of people so I decided to play it safe and keep everything contained.    While at the campground, a thru hiker from last year named Great Legs pulled up and asked if anyone needed any rides around town so we happily obliged and he drove us around to resupply. We got into his BMW and drove around in style, we've had some really great rids so far. He's a prime example of how the trail can change someone, he never hiked beforehand and afterwards he moved down south for personal reasons but was so close to the trail that he wanted to pay it forward and helped out thru hikers when he could.   After all errands, he drove us to the trailhead and we hung out for a bit,the clouds were looking rather ominous but nothing you can do except hike. So we ventured into Shenadoah National Park which is exciting,we're on our last leg of Virginia which is crazy to comprehend but looking forward to heading north. We had to register at a kiosk and bring a pass with us the duration through the park and this where everyone did their wardrobe changes which showed a lot more skin than usual and I buckled and stripped down to underwear. While this was happening Shakespeare and Chicklette came by and when we mentioned it was Hike Naked Day,they stripped down to their underwear without hesitation and we all headed down trail together.   Soon after the sky unleashed and we hiked in a torrential downpour. I can't complain too much because we've had such great weather the whole trip but the trail was essentially a river the whole hike. We arrived at the shelter which had the most people there since the first week I've been on the trail and we got some interesting looks. Luckily people behind us hiked in completely nude so we weren't the craziest ones there.   We celebrated Gadgets birthday with drinks,singing and homemade pizza that we made over the the fire. Shakespeare even did a reading from a smutty romance novel someone had so it was an entertaining night. Even amongst the rain and being soaked we had a great time, you have to make due with what you got out here sometimes.
Date: 2014-06-22
From: Calf Mountain Shelter

To: Loft Mountain Campgrounds
Miles today: 19.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Last night is rained hard again and as a result my tent was pretty soaked inside and out. I set up my tent at a designated site but the ground wasn't deep or wide enough so my tent was a little loser and when it rained it soaked through and everything is a bit moist even my quilt. As a result of the weather, everyone slept in a little later than usual and when everything was said and done we left around 9:15.   I'm hoping the whole portion of the Shenadoah's like what it was today-mostly flat with gradual uphills. Since Skyline Drive runs through the park, we cross a lot of roads which breaks up the hike a bit, I sort of like it. We also pass a lot of people on the trail from day hikers with kids to section hikers, I like the mixture, as much as I like my fellow thru hikers it's good to see outsiders especially when they find about what we're doing and they get this wide eyed look on their face.   Atlas and I were the first to the campground and got a campsite on the far end of the place, the park ranger was real nice and hooked us up with a nice spot. We walked over to the camp store and were hoping find some hot dogs but they were out but the cashier gave a bag of food that's expiration date was tomorrow so we got a bunch if yogurt and Oreo and Reese's ice cream pies, it was superb. We walked over to the amphitheater which overlooked the mountains and stuffed our faces,it was a great beginning to the night.   Eventually everyone showed up to the site and we hung out for a bit, Shakespeare and Chicklette showed up too which was awesome,they fit into the group real well. Shakespeare thru hiked last year and Chicklette did a portion and is now attempting to finish the whole thing.    Unfortunately my stuff didn't dry off too well so I'm laying in a moist tent with a moist quilt. The wind is blowing so hopefully it will help but I feel there's going to be a lot of dew in the morning so I'll be back at square one. Eventually it will dry out, you just have to adapt to what every is thrown your way out here,if not,you're not going to last long at all.
Date: 2014-06-23
From: Loft Mountain Campgrounds

To: Hightop Hut
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: light rain

Apparently there was an invasion of slugs overnight at the campsite as all of tents were covered in them plus the ground was dewy which kept our tents wet for another day. So in the Shenadoah's there are restaurant/gift shops placed throughout the park called waysides and wherever there is real food, thru hikers will flock. After taking an annoying half mile side trail to the wayside we were there and I enjoyed a breakfast of eggs,sausage, toast and the best tasting hash browns I've ever had.   We were lazy and took our time leaving but we finally moved our butts and hopped back on the trail. The rest of the day was pretty non eventful and Atlas and I got to the shelter before the others. We took bet candy bars on when they would show up because they always take long breaks and show up late, I lost yet again. Out tenet final dried out but unfortunately the socks are still wet and smell like death, can't wait to get into town and do some laundry. As you can tell,this was an uneventful day and I don't have much to say so I'll stop here, we hit the 900 mile mark tomorrow,looking forward to that.
Date: 2014-06-24
From: Hightop Hut

To: Bearfence Mountain Hut
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: overcast clouds

So we hit the 900 mile mark right off the bat and that was great motivation for the rest of the day. Atlas's sister came in from Arkansas and is going to hike with us for a week so it should be fun times.    So we hiked about four miles to Skyline Drive to meet up with her sister which worked out pretty good as we arrived around the same time. She had to go into town to get food for the trip so we all scrunched into the car to do a small resupply do we would just go straight to Front Royal with another resupply. I love car rides and even more so now that I'm not in a car so infrequently, while on the way to Elkton we saw a billboard for McDonalds so we had to stop for a lunch break. The hiker hunger is in full force as I ate a double quarter pounder meal,it had the most calories and it was delicious. So after stuffing our faces and doing a resupply, we got back to the trail late. Since it was late, we had to scale back the initial plans and aimed for a campground. The good thing about campgrounds in the Shenadoah's is they have camp stores which have beer which is always a good thing at the end of the day. Gadget came up with the idea of having an impromptu belated birthday party for Atlas as she celebrated it on her first day out here in terrible weather so we thought it would be nice to do it the right way by getting wine and s'mores ingredients.   We got to the shelter and there was a father-son section hiker,Grumpy and Outlaw who were really nice people. The shelter was pretty empty which was surprising as there's a hefty amount of hikers in the park and with the lack of shelters and campgrounds,people tend to clustered up. Well I jinxed it as right after a horde of they hikers came stumbling down the hill. Apparently they all hung out at the camp store and drank outside until it closed and then hiked down to the shelter. A once quiet night turned to a boisterous one for a bit but it was fun, it was a good group of hikers there and Atlas enjoyed her second birthday so once again another great day on the trail.
Date: 2014-06-26
From: Byrds Nest # 3 Hut

To: Gravel Springs Hut
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: scattered clouds

My dilemma of the day was whether or not get a ride into Luray, VA to watch the the USA soccer match and then come back and hike another 14 miles, I toiled with idea last night and this morning but didn't know what to do. I figured by the time I reached Thornton Gap which is where I would get a ride I would have my decision and I did not and hung out there for about a half and hour and then finally decided it wasn't worth it and hiked on.    With that out if the way it was time to focus on the next wayside up ahead and what to have for lunch. It was another beautiful day and I had a good pace going and eventually met up with Delaware before the wayside and we hiked there together. They were repaving the parking lot so the sights and smells of the park were overshadowed by the noise and smells of construction but that wasn't going to stop me from enjoying my sandwich and beer. I ended up talking to a local for a few hours, well he talked I just sat there and nodded my head but he was chock full of knowledge of the area so it was interesting to listen to. We waited around for Atlas and her sister for a few hours but they never showed up, we figured we would meet up with them at the shelter.   We got to the shelter and there were some section hikers there and a duo of bicyclists who were traveling from New York to Texas. Atlas and her sister showed up to the campsite but they weren't empty handed as they had beer,pizza and chips for us,it was amazing. Apparently after the 22 mile hike, Atlas's sister wasn't feeling the whole hiking 17 miles so they got a ride to her car and they parked near the trail and brought all the goodies to us. We destroyed the pizza and beer and the cherry on top was that Atlas's sister was going to slackpack us tomorrow into Front Royal where we'll be staying for the night,I can't wait to take a shower
Date: 2014-06-27
From: Gravel Springs Hut

To: Front Royal,VA
Miles today: 13.4

I'm trying to catch up on the trailjournals so I'm keeping this one short and sweet. We slackpacked 13 miles in 5 hours, withiut the packs and on this terrain we were flying. We got a hotel room and then went out for some Mexican which was mediocre, I was disappointed. We were suppose to meet up with Yogi,Scout,Shakespeare and Chicklette but apparently they got invited to some party on a farm which we were invited to but couldn't get exact directions of how to get there. We're on a mission to get to Harpers Ferry by June 30th so it's good not to get entangled in the distractions.
Date: 2014-06-28
From: Front Royal,VA

To: Dick's Dome Shelter
Miles today: 15.2

We got a shuttle to the trail around 11 and were on the trail not too long after that. The trail ran alongside a barbed wire fence for awhile which takes away from the beauty of the trail. Apparently the Smithsonian Museum has a huge compound near the trail and the out the fence up their to make their point.   We were a few miles out when we hiked pass the ridge runner for the area,Kite, and he met us know that there may be a lot of people at the shelter we were going to and since this was an odd shelter in that it only had room for four people,it could be a tight squeeze.   Well he wasn't lying as once we arrived there was two troops of big scouts there and already set up. We looked for tent spots but there were no vacancies so we took out chances and hoped there were spots and there were. This was definitely a unique shelter as most shelters are three sided rectangle shelters and this one was an octagon shape. So me, Delaware, Atlas and the ridge runner slept in the shelter and fell asleep to the soothing sounds of the streams that flowed in front of the shelter.
Date: 2014-06-29
From: Dick's Dome Shelter

To: Bears Den Hostel
Miles today: 18.3

Had a good night sleep except for the bugs,got a bit eaten up but that's comes with the territory now. We were aiming for the Bears Den Hostel which is a castle like structure that's suppose to be a really great hostel but before that we have to hike through most of the 'Roller Coaster'. The 'Roller Coaster' is a thirteen mile portion of the trail which a series of steep up and downs that has become famous for whatever reason, the trail isn't challenging enough but lets reroute a section of the trail to go over rocks and any other annoying features.    The first eight miles were nice and flat and then the Roller Coaster started. It really wasn't too bad, at this point we've hiked over enough ups and downs that this was just more of the same. We hiked nine of the thirteen miles before we stopped and went to the hostel. It really is a beautiful structure and the inside was just a beautiful. We stayed in the bunk room downstairs and had bought a Tombstone pizza each and I split a pint of Ben & Jerrys with Atlas, I'm packing in the calories wherever I can. Checkout is at nine so it's time for some sleep,have a big day tomorrow, we'll finish in Harpers Ferry which is where the Appalachian Trail Conservancy headquarter is and is the psychological halfway point for the trail. We're less than a mile from the 1000 mile which is pretty unbelievable and will be heading into the northern states in the next few days. The miles are piling up and it's pretty crazy to think I'll be hiking through my home state of New York soon enough.
Date: 2014-07-01
From: Harpers Ferry,WV

To: Harpers Ferry,WV
Miles today: 3.0
Weather: broken clouds

We took an unexpected nearo day which as really nice. It was real hot today and the mile walk from the hotel to the ATC was brutal and didn't give much hope of having a big day. My original intentions was to wake up early and hike 18 miles to Boonesboro,MD and go to a bar to watch the USA soccer game but once again,plans change.   We woke up late yet again so my original plan was out the door and we needed a new plan. First thing first was we needed to resupply so we took a shuttle to a town nearby and went to a Walmart. I need to start making a list because I tend to wander around aimlessly and end up with the most random crap.    After we got back and packed up, we went down town to a pub to watch the game with other thru hikers. The only downfall of the place was the lack of air conditioning which made the game rather uncomfortable but wasn't worse than how the USA played which was even more disappointing.   Afterwards we hiked out of town and went to a hostel which was a bit hard to find especially in a torrential downpour but it was a gem of a place. We got there on free pizza night which was a good sign and relaxed there and watched a movie before calling it a night. The terrain is pretty flat for a while so this is the time to do some big miles and get up to the Delaware Water Gap sometime between July 13th and the 20th.