morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2017-05-29
From: Dalesville,VA

To: Bobblets Gap Shelter
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: clear sky

Woke at 6:30 and had a nice hot breakfast at the Howard Johnsons hotel before heading out. Saw Papa Choo Choo and said one last goodbye as they will be staying at the hotel till noon before they start out. I need to make an average of 15 miles per day in order to make it to Harpers Ferry by June 15. I have made arrangements to go home for a week to recuperate and to see the family. I miss them so much. I hiked 18.5 miles today to Bobblet's Gap Shelter and will sleep in the shelter tonight. Today was a Good day of hiking.
Date: 2017-06-05
From: Dalesville 

To: Reid's Gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

I am now at Reid's Gap. It's tough when I would like to blog, but there is no service. That's the way it's been since leaving Dalesville. I have done a lot of miles, and feeling good so far. I did do a 24 miler one day. I've been wanting to do 20 miles for a while now and finally did it. The plan at this point is to get to Harpers Valley by the 14th of June to fly home. I need a little time off from the trail to give my body some long needed rest. I'll get back on the trail later in June. I'll try to summarize the last week for you in the next blog.
Date: 2017-06-05
From: Dalesville 

To: Reid's Gap
Miles today: 96.2
Weather: light rain

5/28 9.4 miles. Stayed the night in Hotel with Papa Choo Choo. Weight of pack is 27.2 with five days food supply.5/29 18.5 miles. Bobblets Shelter. The next day I would try a 20 miler.5/30 24 miles. Yeah! Thunder Hill Shelter.5/31 14.6 miles. Made it to Glasgow where the town put up a shelter for hikers. Ate at a nearby restaurant.Resupply at the Dollar General.6/1 10.5 miles. Punch Bowl Shelter. Only one there till 7 pm, and then a large group came in to party till 3am. At this shelter is where I met Old School, from Maine6.2 17.6 miles. Hog Camp Gap. Weather has been good all week.6/3 14.3 miles. The Priest Shelter. The next day will make it to Reid's Gap and free camping at a local restaurant in the area. 6/4 Met people that took a group of us to there home. Will have to explain more later as they are ready, now, to take us back to the trail.
Date: 2017-06-07
To: Loft Mtn Campground
Miles today: 0.0

Yesterday while walking down a long incline, I twisted my knee, of which I am now favoring. This has slowed my pace down considerably. I am now in Shenandoah National Park. This National Park is also one of the milestones I looked forward to as I did my research on the AT. There is no charge for thru hikers to stay in the park as we pass through. There are several places to resupply also as we need.
Date: 2017-06-08
From: Loft Mountain Campground

To: Hightop Hut
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Today is June 8th. Last night it rained all night till 6 am this morning and then the sun finally came out at which time I frantically laid everything out to dry before packing up and hiking. Left the campground at 9:30, but stopped at the camp store to resupply and eat a little breakfast. By 10:30, I was on the path to High Top Hut, fifteen miles away. Temp. today started out at 49, and rose to a wonderful 58 degrees. Perfect for hiking. Saw many vistas at the overlooks, as the AT crosses the Skyline Drive at many places along the route. I guess it will cross the highway 20 times before I leave the park next week. As you can see, it appears that my phone survived the rain from last nights dunking. Thank God.The plan is to exit SNP on Monday, get a shuttle to Harpers Ferry, where I will hop on the Amtrak to DC. There I'll transfer trains, and go to Baltimore airport. Next I'll board a plane to Minneapolis where Chris will be waiting to pick me up and drive home for some R and R. Will be back on the trail after about a week off. Really need some rest!
Date: 2017-06-10
From: Big Meadow Campground

To: Skyland Campground 
Miles today: 24.0
Weather: clear sky

Hit the 900 mile mark today. Got to Big Meadows camp ground at 4 pm only to find it completely full and no room for a weary hiker as I. But earlier, I had met two fellow travelers, collecting wood from the forest along the highway, for a camp fire at Big Meadow campground. We talked for a minute or two and then I continued on my journey as it was another 4 miles to the campground. upon arriving at the campground, as I said, it was complete full. As I was leaving the rangers office, I past by the campsite of the two men I met earlier. They had managed to get a camping spot and saw my plight so offered an area next to their tent to set up if I wished. I did not hesitate and quickly set up my camp. We shared an evening meal and several beers and now I'm feeling pretty good. I am very grateful for these two men and their hospitality.
Date: 2017-06-13
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

I am now in Harpers Ferry West Virginia. I finished hiking up to Front Royal, VA. and was able to get a shuttle ride to the Teahorse Hostel here in Harpers Ferry for the night. I will now try to update this journal and let everybody know what is going on.First off let me tell you that this body is very very tired and wore out. I have not taken a zero sense the first week of May. I am looking forward to going home and relaxing for a few days. It will do this body good. I do plan on getting back on the trail around the end of June. I am contemplating a flip-flop approach when I get back on the trail. A flip-flop means that I would go to Mount Katahdin in Maine and hike south to Harpers Ferry. Harpers Ferry is the half way point. This way I can still complete a thru hike within the 12 months but I would be able to summit Mt. Katahdin, in Maine during the warm weather months and not the colder months of Sept., or October. The verdict is still out on what to do in that regard.Here is just a recap of the last few days on the trail as I have not had cell service till now. On the 10th of June I hiked 13 miles to a place called the Pinnacles where I stealth camped for the night which means just setting up camp on a flat spot just off the trail. On the 11 June I woke up early and hit the trail before 6 AM to watch the sunrise and beat the heat that was expected that day. Total miles hiked was 18 1/2. Arrived at Gravel Springs Hut at 5 PM and decided to call it quits for the day. During the night two ladies were woke up at 2 AM by a bear outside their tent. They let out a loud scream and the bear evidently ran away. Needless to say the women did not sleep the rest of the night.Many people have seen bears in the Shenandoah Park area but I have yet to see one.And June 12, I again woke up early and was hiking by 7 AM. Today my goal is to get to Front Royal where I will proceed to get a shuttle to take me to Harpers Ferry for the night. Then it's on to Baltimore by Amtrak and then a plane ride back to Minneapolis Minnesota where my lovely wife will pick me up from the airport at about 10 PM Wednesday night.Now I'm sitting in the train station, waiting for AmTrack. It's 2 hours late so far. Still waiting !
Date: 2017-06-26
To: View Entry
Miles today: 60.0

Well folks I'm back on the trail....almost. After a week at home, I spent 4 days with my son and his two boys on what we call our annual boys baseball trip. We started this tradition about 8 years ago. We go to a ball park and take in a couple games, tour the stadium and also tour that area of the country. We all love it and enjoy the male bonding time. This year, because I am hiking the trail, we decided to take in the Nationals of Washington, DC. We watched two games and then went to three different museums. After that, the boys wanted to experience hiking the trail with me, so we decided to go back to McAfee Knob and have them hike up to the knob and past to a campsite for the night. We are now cowboy camping tonight just past the knob. Cowboy camping is where you find a level spot on the ground and lay out a bed roll and sleep under the stars. No tent. Here's hoping all goes well.
Date: 2017-06-28
From: Front Royal

To: View Entry
Miles today: 10.7

I have had about 10 days off from hiking and am now back at it. I spent a few days with my son, Jon, and his two boys by the names of Nathan and Benjamin. 12 and 10 years old. They really wanted to see what it would be like to hike the AT., so I took them to McAfee knob. They loved it. I will send another blog about that trip after this blog. Left town this morning and only did a little over 10 miles today. Figure to start out slow and let the body adjust to the punishment slowly. Also the weather has now turned hot and humid so will take it easy today. Tomorrow I will get back to 15 mile days. More hikers coming into the shelter and its getting late.It's past hiker midnight now and I'm exhausted.
Date: 2017-06-28
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Well as I have said last night I am almost back on the trail. Last night my son and his two boys and I, cowboy camped about half a mile past McAfee knob. The boys were very excited to be able to sleep under the stars, not to mention the idea of peeing in the woods. We won't even mention the fact that Nate has mastered the difficult task of learning to poop by sitting on a downed tree. I've never seen a boy so proud as he came running out of the woods after accomplishing his task. My other grandson Benjamin has perfected the art of peeing on trees in the woods. He is only 10 years old, but has picked up the art of that task fairly quickly. One thing Ben has got todo is to check the trail for other hikers before carrying out his task. Although the two people who hiked right past him, as he was performing his task, had quite a little chuckle as they walked by unbeknown to him.I am in a hotel tonight in Front Royal, Virginia and will hike the trail tomorrow around 10am. My plan would be to hike to Harpers Ferry by next Saturday. At this point I do not plan on flip-flopping my hike. I will make that decision around September 1st. I will see how far I can get going north before I make that decision. I am hoping to increase my mileage per day to somewhere between 15 to 20 miles per day. After being gone from the trail for about 10 days I noticed that my legs have gotten a little weaker. So because of this I will start rather slow and again slowly build up to my mileage.This blog was suppose to have accompanied the pic. the other day.
Date: 2017-06-30
From: Sam Moore Shelter

To: David Lesser Memorial Shelter
Miles today: 13.7
Weather: broken clouds

June 30th. I woke early to get a start on the day before it gets too hot. Also wanted to walk 3 miles to a Hostel, called "Bears Den", that was serving breakfast till 9 am. I arrived at 9 am, and they were done serving, so I opted for a breakfast of Ben & Jerry's mint chocolate chip ice cream and two Pepsi's. That should give me enough energy to finish up the roller coaster which I have been on since yesterday. The roller coaster is a series of ups and downs approximately 500 feet up and down for thirteen miles. These are very steep ascents and decents. I had already done half of the roller coaster yesterday and now finished the other half today. I am glad to be done with them and out of Virginia. Virginia claims to have the most miles of the Appalachian Trail at about 500 total. I entered West Virginia this afternoon. I am now camped at David Lesser Memorial Shelter which is at mile marker 1014.4. It's good to be here on such a hot day. The last couple days have been in the mid 80s and 80% humidity. This heat and humidity really take a toll on me, and right now I feel pretty exhausted. Tomorrow I will hike 10 miles into Harpers Ferry and probably zero on Sunday. I need to resupply, wash clothes and definitely take a shower. I'll be back on the trail on Monday.Till then I'll regroup. It's been tough in this heat.
Date: 2017-07-01
From: David Lesser Shelter

To: Harpers Ferry
Miles today: 25.4

I made it to Harpers Ferry today by 1 o'clock. The day has been very hot and muggy. The high temperature today was 85 with 85% humidity. I'm currently staying at the Tea Horse hostel in Harpers Ferry and enjoying the air conditioning of our room.Today is my 71st birthday and so I decided to treat myself to a big steak and an ice cream sundae for dessert at a place called the Anvil. It's just a block from the hostel. The weather forecast for all next week is supposed to be upper 80s low 90s and humid again so best that I get used to it. I don't mind the humid conditions but the temperature and the humidity together really take a toll on me. I am forever wiping my brow of sweat. At the same time I'm usually consuming 3 to 4 L of water per day to keep hydrated. Yesterday it was 91 degrees in the mountains. When I came across a creek, I decided to pour several liters of water all over me and my clothes, to cool me off. Man did that cold shower feel good. It was early afternoon and I was just so hot I had to cool off and cool off quickly. I actually felt faint for a little bit. The cool water definitely brought my body temperature down and then I felt much better. Also hiking with wet clothes has a cooling affect upon the body, sorta like air conditioning. The lesson I learned from that is to slow down, take it easy and try to consume more liquids. Maybe I don't have to do 15 miles a day. It might be better to cut down to 12 until the heat wave passes.Thursday and Friday I did the roller coaster and that has taken a big toll on me as far as the energy is concerned. I hope not to see rocks and hills like that again until I get to Maine.As I said earlier I am currently in Harpers Ferry and I feel I need a day off. I will zero on Sunday and hit the trail again on Monday. I understand the ups and downs won't be as bad through Maryland. Hard to believe I've done five states so far and have gone 1023 miles. My body feels pretty good except for my calves, which hurt after walking the roller coaster. My mind is wondering why I'm doing this hike. I guess that's a normal reaction from people who reach Harpers Ferry. They question why they're doing the hike at this point. I've talked to several people who have now left the trail here at Harpers Ferry and are calling it quits. I hope to continue and get to Maine by the end of September. Only time will tell. I feel pretty good right now for a 71-year-old man who's living his dream, (or has it become a nightmare?)By the way, you'll note that my journal entries are longer and more detailed, when I get into town and recuperate for a night. I usually have more time to post and of course the Internet is available. Also I should point out the problem I'm having with the mileage. Today I only walked 8.7 miles to get into Harpers Ferry. But because the mileage is off, I put down 25.4 miles to get me up to the total mileage where I should be which would be about 1023.1.
Date: 2017-07-02
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Today was a great day. I woke at 7 o'clock and Ben, the owner of Tea Horse Hostel, made waffles for breakfast. I had one and a half plus some orange juice and a banana before brushing my teeth and heading out for a walk, (without my pack).It's hard to explain, but when I came into town yesterday, I took a shortcut to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy which bypassed about a mile of the trail. Not to miss any part of the trail, I decided to go back today and hike that mile which runs along the cliffs of the Shenandoah river and into the old district of Harpers Ferry. What a wonderful experience it was. Of course there is a lot of Civil War history here in Harpers Ferry. I saw the ruins of churches and old buildings. A lot of buildings have been restored to their pre-Civil War condition. In the historic part of town, you will find a lot of the homes and buildings are made of old bricks and stone from that area. Quite a charming look for a small little town .Old Harpers Ferry is a small quiet town and has no stoplights and no grocery store. In order to resupply I had to go to the local 7-11 to buy food for the next 4 to 5 days. How different and unique.After returning to the hostel I decide to take a nice long nap in air-conditioned comfort before going out later tonight for supper. Tomorrow my plan would be to get up and have breakfast and then get back to the trail. I have to walk about a half a mile through town to get back to the trail and then I will head to Maryland Heights which is approximate 2 1/2 miles from Harpers Ferry. Maryland Heights is a rock promontory at the 2000 foot elevation mark. It's also four miles off the AT. From this viewpoint I should have a good look at Harpers Ferry and will be able to get some good images. After Maryland Heights, I will come back down from the mountaintop and hike to a place called Ed Garvey shelter which is about 8, maybe 9, miles north on the AT. At that point I will be in the state of Maryland. That will be the sixth state of the fourteen. Temperatures tomorrow are supposed be near 90 and relative humidity will be in the high 80s.It's mind boggling to me to think that I have walked 1023 miles so far and covered five states. Hopefully the adventure will continue. Maryland is next.
Date: 2017-07-06
From: Ensign Cowall Shelter

To: Fayetteville,PA
Miles today: 33.9

July 5. Most all aches and pains are now gone except for the pain in my left butt cheek. I must have landed pretty hard on it during the fall. Nothing seems to be broken except my ego. I remember feeling pretty proud of myself when I reached Harpers Ferry thinking I'm doing really good. Well, you know what happens when you get a little too cocky. I guess you might say I deserved it. I'll try not to make that mistake again. July 4th, I only hiked 11 miles to a backpackers only campground and arrived at noon. I wanted to take it easy and relax the rest of the day. First thing I did was to take a 20 minute HOT shower, since they had a shower house in the campground. Felt great!!!! The blood didn't wash off my face as well as I thought it would. It wasn't blood, that I saw on my face, but rather scrapes from my fall as my face was kissing the rock talus while I was sliding head first down the rock talus. After my shower, I set up my tent in a shady spot followed by doing laundry in the bathroom sink. After hanging clothes, I found myself in the tent taking a well deserved nap.During my PRT time,(personal rest time), many hikers came in and set up their tents. One person was Morning Glory who I had met a couple of days earlier. We decided to hike a half a mile to this restaurant which was just off the trail near the town of Boonesborro, Maryland. The only thing is, being the Fourth of July, it was closed. New plan. Call and order pizza. Called but everything in town was closed. We found a deli that was open and decided to order 18 cheese burgers, 6 order of chicken tenders and two big bottles of Pepsi. Everybody back at camp was ecstatic when we finally returned. It was a good Fourth of July celebration. We were able to provide trail magic for a group of hikers and it felt good.Woke this morning and hiked 14 miles to this shelter and now ready for a good nights rest.July 6 th. Hiked all day in rain. One time it was a deluge for 45 minutes. I am now completely soaked so I have decided to call it a day and call a shuttle service to take me into Fayetteville Pennsylvania. There I will stay at a motel where Chris has already shipped me another pair of glasses. I will try to blog more tomorrow. There is poor cell service her, even in this small town. I hope the picture that I sent came through. I won't know until I close out of this program and send out this blog. If it does not come through, I will try to find better service tomorrow and resend it. It's a nice picture of my beautiful face as it slowly heals.
Date: 2017-07-07
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Yesterday, 6 July, I must've been quite tired when I did my blog and did NOT proof read my journal entry. There were a few spelling errors. I'm sure most people can read around those mistakes, so I say thank you for your understanding and patience. Please know that I blog as often as I can when I have service. But many times I do not have service in the wilderness between two mountain ranges, in which case I try to catch up when I have service next or I'm in town as I am now.The Appalachian Mountain Range was formed millions of years ago through the earths transformation of uplifting and shifting in the earths crust. It was in the early 20s that a man by the name of Benton MacKaye came up with the idea of forming a trail from southern United States to northern Maine through the Appalachian Mountains. It wasn't till 1932 that Myron Avery was able to join forces with Benton MacKaye and complete the trail. Avery wanted this trail to be the "peoples path". It was in 1948 that Earl Schaffer, a World War II veteran, hiked the complete length of the trail, which we now call a "thru hike". Since then, thousands have completed a successful thru hike. Notable are veterans and veterans with disabilities. I am also aware of one blind person, with the help of his dog, completing the trail as well as a paralyze lady. People of all ages from 8 to 80 have completed a thru hike over the years. The length of the trail changes every year due to rerouting of certain sections of it. This year the trails length is 2189.4 miles. The psychological halfway point on the trail is Harpers Ferry, WV., even though it's not the mileage halfway point. The actual mileage halfway point would be another 6 1/2 miles south of Pine Grove Furnace State Park, in PA., in the middle of nowhere.So why have I given you all this information? I did so because I am in a town called Fayetteville, PA taking a zero today. Also, as I have said earlier, I have more time on my hands to blog when I'm in town. Besides that, it's kind of fun to do a little bit more writing on my blog. The only other thing that I accomplished today was to resupply for the next five days and to pig out at the local restaurant. Tomorrow, Saturday July 8th, I will be back on the trail at 9:30 am hiking north to continue living my dream and adventure. And what an adventure it has been so far. It is difficult to keep an accurate record of the mileage that I do every day. That is why sometimes when I try to catch up on the mileage it might say I've done 35 miles but in my blog I will put the actual mileage that I did which might be 15 for example.
Date: 2017-07-10
From: Birch Run Shelter

To: James Fry Shelter
Miles today: 45.6

July 10, 2017. Today I hit the actual halfway mark for 2017 on the Appalachian Trail at 1094.9. I am camped at James Fry Shelter campground and the mileage for that is 1109.6. In the last two days I have done an average of 18 miles per day. I think I've finally developed my hiking legs. Yesterday I met a 23-year-old gentleman who calls himself Rocket. He just up and quit his work to hike the Appalachian Trail. Yesterday was the second day on the trail when I met him, and he seems very unprepared as I looked at his pack, his gear and his attitude and I fear he will not do well on the trail. He has no trail experience , no food, and no sense of what it takes to survive on the Appalachian Trail for three months. I wish Rocket well because he's going to need it.Today I came in to a town called Pine Grove Furnace where there is a convenient store and a tradition of what they call an ice cream challenge. What the challenge is, is to eat a half a gallon of ice cream in a half and hour and then you get a prize of a wooden spoon like we used to get in the little Dixie cups of ice cream. For this contest, the hiker pays a charge of $10 for a half a gallon of ice cream, ( flavor of his/her choice ),which is really only 3 pints, so then they have to buy another pint of ice cream for four dollars. It seems a little pricey to eat all that ice cream only to get sick afterwards and only to win a small wooden spoon that could give your tongue splinters. Oh yes you do get bragging rights. I did have a small dish of two scoops of ice cream though after I finished a bacon cheeseburger, french fries, two Pepsi's and a chocolate milk. For some reason I crave chocolate milk out here. But it has to be the whole chocolate milk not 1% or 2%.I take after my brother-in-law Bruce that way.