morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-07-06
From: Jenkins Shelter

To: Helvey's Mill Shelter
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: moderate rain

This morning started out better than I thought it would. After doctoring my feet I took off at 9:15 (how lazy was that?). I felt pretty good for about half the day, then my feet started getting sore again. I did a 14 mile day to give them a break. I think that's the shortest full day I've ever done. I'm at Helvey's Mill Shelter, once again by myself. I didn't even see another hiker today. I did get some trail magic though. I wasn't expecting that. I was able to top off my water and drink a grape soda. I crossed Rt 77 toward the end of the day. I drove that highway for 6 yrs while I was in the Army. The trail today was great. I was on big mountains all day, but the trail was relatively straight along the side near the top. That makes for some great hiking and views. I hope to do 16 miles tomorrow to get to a place where I can resupply and clean up. I have phone reception at this shelter, so I will be sending this post now. It's the second one today so don't forget to go back and read yesterday's entry. I have also posted a lot of pictures lately - check them out. Until next timeSent from my iPhone
Date: 2013-07-07
From: Helvey's Mill Shelter

To: Jenny Knob Shelter
Miles today: 9.8
Weather: broken clouds

Another short day. I planned on 16 miles to a place to resupply, but while taking a break and getting water at the next shelter, it started raining. I decided to call it a day early and do 6 miles in the morning to resupply. While it was raining, an interesting fella stopped in for a break and I finally had someone to talk to (poor guy). The first thing you notice about him is his umbrella. They are becoming very popular with hikers. He has a very small backpack and a base weight (without food and water) of 6 pounds. Because of this he does 30 mile days. He is also working full time while on the trail. He does computer work from home so he goes off trail to a hotel once a week and works. He then mails the computer to another town and hikes to it. He said that he goes on vacation and when he gets back he has more vacation time then when he left. The hike this morning was similar to yesterday's. Nothing special, but nice scenery. I did see two clues that bears had been on the trail, but didn't see any. This makes two shelters in a row that have cell phone reception, so I will be able to send this entry now. Until next time. Sent from my iPhone
Date: 2013-07-08
From: Jenny Knob Shelter

To: Wapiti Shelter
Miles today: 14.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Ok, get comfortable, I have a lot to talk about. Last night, after I sent the journal, I had another hiker come in, so finally someone to talk to! He just graduated from the University of Virginia and already has a job working for a company in Boston. I enjoyed our rather lengthy conversation. I did find that he isn't an early riser though, because I packed up and left without him even noticing. My first objective was Trent's Grocery for resupply, shower, laundry, and real FOOD! I never have understood why hikers seem to be obsessed with taking pictures of their food (you can see the lovely photograph I took of my cheeseburger, potato wedges, and soft drink in the photo section). The store had a little campground with one older gentleman camping there. He has been there for a month, but will be leaving tomorrow. We talked while I was waiting for my phone to charge. As he worked through his 12 pack, I gradually did more listening than talking. He was a good-hearted guy though. On the way back to the trail I grabbed another sandwich from the store to eat here at the shelter tonight. Now the hiking part. I forgot to mention that before coming to the road that lead to Trent's, there was a very impressive suspension bridge across Kimberling Creek. I took several pictures of it. After leaving the store I had 8 miles to go to the next shelter. The map showed it as being very flat so I knew it wouldn't be a problem. This trail, as opposed to those of the last couple days was at the bottom of the mountain following Dismal Creek. I may have to move this trail to the top of my favorites list. Dismal Creek is big and fast moving. There were Rhododendron and Mountain Laurel in bloom and small creeks everywhere. I lost track of how many bridges I crossed. I also came upon a large pond that had been built in the middle of the forest. It was being fed by a 10 inch pipe taking the crystal clear water from one of the creeks. The pipe was running full. What I wouldn't give to have a pond like that. Tonight I'm alone (so far) at Wapiti Shelter. It may have the nicest setting of any shelter I've seen. Sadly, despite its appeal, it was the setting for what many would consider the most tragic event in the history of the AT. While I haven't read all the details, a man (Robert) and a woman (Susan) were murdered in the shelter by a deranged man one night in 1981. I was anxious to read the shelter journal to see what people were saying and if the shelter is being used. I'm happy to report that it is well used. I can't decide where to go tomorrow. It's a short 7 miles to Woods Hole Hostel, which is said to be "a slice of heaven not to be missed." I also have a couple of other things I want to see toward the end of my trip, and need to do more miles. Tune in tomorrow to see what I decided to do! Until next time. Sent from my iPhone
Date: 2013-07-09
From: Wapiti Shelter

To: Pearisburg
Miles today: 17.6
Weather: clear sky

As you've probably already noticed, I chose to hike on instead of going to Woods Hole Hostel. I am now actually in another hostel run by a Catholic Church in Pearisburg. Today's hike took me back up the mountains where the streams disappear, but the advantage is the views. There were some outstanding ones today. I quit taking pictures of them because they just can't capture how they really look. I was able to accomplish another goal today. A few days ago I started noticing comments by Warren Doyle in the shelter journals. Warren is an AT icon. He has hiked the entire trail 16 times and is currently working on his 17th. He has over 35,000 trail miles. He has accomplished this with thru hikes and section hikes. He also takes entire groups on thru hikes. I knew that Warren was right ahead of me so I was hoping to meet him. We both ended up at the same shelter for a break today and spent quite a while talking. Rather than me trying to list all of his accomplishments, Google his name if you are interested. You will find that he's quite interesting. Warren was also able to elaborate on the murders that occurred at the shelter I stayed in last night. He lives in this area and was very interested in the case when it occurred. He recommended a book that was written about it. The man that Warren is currently hiking with, as well as the boy that stayed with me in the shelter a couple nights ago are here with me tonight. Warren's friend is going to give us a ride to the trail in the morning. Until next time. Sent from my iPhone
Date: 2013-07-10
From: Pearisburg

To: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter
Miles today: 19.3
Weather: few clouds

An early start this morning. The young man from Virginia, whose trail name is Snake Bait, and I had a ride to the trail set up with the man section hiking with Warren. They were meeting at McDonalds and we were going with him. I asked him if we were going to eat breakfast or they were just meeting in the parking lot. He said they might be eating, but that he would have to drop Snake Bait and me off before he went because they were switching cars and there wouldn't be room in Warren's car. Well. He must have noticed that "I'M NOT GETTING MY McD COFFEE?!?!" look in my eye, because he immediately suggested we could leave early and run by McD's first. So my hike started off at 6:00 with 2 bagel sandwiches and a large coffee on board. One thing you learn quick out here, is that when you come into town, you climb down and when you leave, you climb up. And boy, did we climb! Again there was great scenery and views. Then the thunder started. Before the day was over I got soaked twice. My feet are now hurting again. The highlight of the day though, has been two bear encounters. The first occurred while I was hiking, before the rain started. Unlike the encounter a week ago, where the bear saw me first, this time I saw him first. He was about 75 yards ahead and right on the trail. I decided to take a picture before doing anything. After that, I did what all the experts suggest down here. I backed away a little more, then let him know I was there by banging my trekking poles together. He looked up and saw me then started running away. Then he stopped. I banged the poles again. He ran again, then stopped. I banged them a third time. This time he ran over the ridge. I quickly scooted down the trail with a few backward glances and then took a restroom break. The second encounter was here at the shelter when I started cooking. I saw movement about 40 ft away and noticed it was a bear. He didn't see me as he began walking down the trail toward the shelter. I stood up and said in a normal voice "go away bear." He looked startled, then turned around and went away. I guess the experts know what they are talking about since both situations ended as they said they would. Both of the bears were very big and healthy looking. A young Japanese couple has come into the shelter. They don't speak a bit of English. This could be interesting. Until next time. Sent from my iPhone
Date: 2013-07-11
From: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter

To: War Spur Shelter
Miles today: 12.7
Weather: broken clouds

Hello from War Spur Shelter. As you can see, today was another short one. Getting caught out in the rain again yesterday has dealt my feet another setback. This is an issue I will need to address for future trips. It will start with better shoes. The trail today was very rocky. Rocks are rough on your feet as well. I don't think I've ever heard of a hiker that likes rocks. There were some more great views today, and when the trail returns to the lower elevations its jungle-like. I passed another of the popular places on the trail. A man, known as The Captain, has a house across a large creek from the trail. He welcomes hikers to camp in his yard or on his porch and has installed a zipline to allow them to cross the river. I have a couple of pictures in the photo section. I hiked through and am sleeping in a section called Mountain Pond. I am told that this is the area where Dirty Dancing was filmed. I know my wife will appreciate that. I think this is the first time on the hike that I have not had cellphone reception all day. Hopefully I can get caught up sending journals out tomorrow. Snake Bait caught me on the trail today. His mother and younger brother are here for a visit so they were at a hotel last night. We sat and talked for awhile since today is probably the last time I will see him. He also shared a piece of his mom's banana nut bread! The young Japanese couple (Chop Chop and Double Chop) are here again tonight, but tenting. I think my snoring ran them off. We did sit and talk for quite a while this evening. It does take patience, but we eventually learned a lot about each other. They are from Kyoto (sp). They are on their honeymoon and are attempting a thru hike. He is a Jr High social studies teacher. That then opened up a discussion comparing our educational systems. Tomorrow starts with a big climb. I will see if giving my feet a little time off today makes a difference Until next time. Sent from my iPhone
Date: 2013-07-12
From: War Spur Shelter

To: Niday Shelter
Miles today: 18.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Tonight I'm staying in Niday Shelter. So far I am by myself. I doubt that Chop Chop and Double Chop will come this far, but I do enjoy their company. I didn't intend to go as far as I did today, but around noon it started to thunder. I became obsessed with getting to the next shelter which was 12 miles, to avoid getting wet again. I eventually realized that I should have already been there. Sure enough, after consulting my trail book, I was 2 miles past it. Since a hiker never goes back, it was now 4 miles to the next shelter, so I was really moving down the trail. I got here at about 5:00. It never did rain.   Last night I fell asleep after reading in the shelter journal that a bear had come up to the shelter about a week ago. Suddenly something banged against the shelter floor. I jumped out of my sleeping bag to find that it was a young boy that had slammed his backpack down after arriving late to the shelter. Today's hike had a lot of variety. I started in the "jungle," walked across about a mile of pasture, climbed a mountain, walked 5 miles of ridge line, then descended to this shelter. I got to see the famous Keiffer Oak today. It is the largest oak tree on the southern AT, measuring over 18 feet around the trunk. It is over 300 yrs old. The Dover Oak in NY is slightly larger. I crossed the Eastern Continental Divide today as well. There is a sign nailed to a tree marking its location. I found about 10 ticks on me while walking across the pasture. These are the first ticks I've seen out here. I got an email today from Shake N Bake, who I hiked with in the beginning of my hike. He summited Mt Katahdan last Sunday. Incredibly, he summited with 7 people that were at Greasy Creek Hostel the night before I left the trail. That is an incredible accomplishment. Tomorrow I'm looking forward to seeing the memorial to Audie Murphy at the site where his plane crashed. There is also a rock formation called dragon's tooth. Hopefully I'll get some good pictures. Until next time. Sent from my iPhone
Date: 2013-07-13
From: Niday Shelter

To: Pickle Branch Shelter
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: clear sky

So, who am I to judge the hiking ability of a young Japanese couple? They came hiking into the shelter about an hour after dark. The (backpack slamming) boy had also arrived earlier, so everyone made the long trip to Niday Shelter. Today I was on the trail by 7:00. I had a short 10 mile day planned so the pace was much slower than yesterday. Very soon I started up the mountain that has the monument to Audie Murphy on its top. It was a really long climb. It seemed longer than my book says it is. The trail was well built and maintained and the scenery was great. At least the scenery on the mountain, because shortly after starting up, I was in the clouds and could see nothing else. The monument was really nice. It was built near the site where Audie died in a plane crash in 1971. It has become customary to place a small stone around the monument. There are literally thousands of stones and other items around it. The trip down the mountain was uneventful. I was setting up in the shelter by 12:30. This shelter is a half mile off the trail which is not popular, but it has a great creek about .2 mile further down. I took advantage of this and had myself a bath. Tomorrow ... Dragon's Tooth! Until next time. Sent from my iPhone
Date: 2013-07-14
From: Pickle Branch Shelter

To: VA 311
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: scattered clouds

As you probably noticed, I haven't posted for awhile. I had the posts ready, but could not get cell service for several days. You might want to back up to the 10th to begin reading them. Last night I had a couple of guys come in to the shelter after I finished my journal. One is attempting a flip thru hike, and the other is an instrumental music teacher out for his yearly section hike. It began to rain about dark and continued through the night. I was up and on the trail at 7:00 this morning. The first objective was Dragon's Tooth. It is a huge rock protrusion that looks like, well, a dragon's tooth. It began, as always, with a climb up a mountain. It rained most of the morning. When I arrived at dragon's tooth, after about 5 miles, I was, of course the only one there. My pictures weren't very good because it was still raining. When I started down the mountain I was genuinely surprised. Of all the talk that goes on out on the trail, nobody had ever mentioned the climb down. It ended up being a mile of rock climbing, in the rain. At times I had to throw my trekking poles down the hill so I could use my hands. In places they had placed hand holds (bars) to help with the climb. It was a bit nerve wracking in places, but it was a lot of fun. I would rather have tried it without the rain though. The rest of my hike out to VA 311 was mostly a ridge walk, with plenty of rocks of course. I read an entry in one of the shelter journals that said Virginia sure is proud of their rocks because they built the trail over every one of them. I ended at VA 311 because that is where three lovely family members were to meet and pick me up. This brings to an end my third trip to the trail. I had a great time, aside from the foot issues, and met some nice people. I covered 173 miles in 12 days, which puts my total mileage over 700. I look forward to trip #4 sometime soon and I hope my journal readers will come along again. Until next time.
Date: 2013-08-15
From: Baltimore

To: Vermont
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Section hike # 4 is gonna happen this summer instead of next! While I had shut things down for this year, an email from a hiking friend changed my plans. Those of you that have followed my journal might recall me hiking through the Smokies with a hiker called Papaw. A couple weeks ago he emailed me to say that he'd had to come of the trail in early July due to some foot issues. He said he has healed up and was heading up to Vermont to complete his thru hike. He then asked me if I'd like to go with him. Long story, short, I've been riding trains for two days; the first day to Virginia where Papaw picked me up; a drive to Baltimore where Papaw's daughter and son in law put us up for the night (thanks); today we are headed to Vermont on another train. Tomorrow morning we will head north once again on the trail. While I feel a bit like I'm having my dessert before my meal by doing the most exciting part of the trail before I've done the middle 900 miles, it is an great chance to get that part done, and it will be great to see Papaw finish his thru hike. Let the search begin for a moose! I will post entries and pictures as reception allows. The mileage counter will now reflect my total miles hiked rather than the length of the trail to that point. Until next time. Sent from my iPhone
Date: 2013-08-16
From: Rt 11, Rt 30

To: Lost Pond Shelter
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: few clouds

Our first night in Vermont was spent at the Hikers Hostel above the Yellow Deli in Rutland. These businesses, along with an outdoor supply type store next door, are run by a group of people that live a communal (is that a word) type of lifestyle. I would provide a link so you can read about them, but I don't have reception tonight. You can Google Yellow Deli and find the info. I will say that they have a great hostel, great food in the deli, and provide great service. I would recommend this stop to anyone passing through. Unlike my last couple hikes, there are a lot of hikers in this area. The hostel was overflowing, and while there is no alcohol allowed in the hostel, there is an establishment across the street that does. I will say that the hikers were in full party mode. Amazingly, Papaw and I slept through it all. We were up and eating our free breakfast in the deli by 6:15. We caught the bus headed to the trail at 6:30, another bus that took us a little closer a short while later. After that, Papaw put his magic thumb to work, and had us a ride to the trail within 20 minutes. We would like to thank Steve and Steve jr for the ride. Big Steve is excited about one day hiking the AT, and asked a few questions that we were happy to answer. Thanks again Steve. We were on the trail by 8:00 and, of course, headed up a mountain. We climbed two today, but the last part of the day was pretty much downhill. Papaw is definitely in better shape than me but we were together most of the time. In a few days we will start getting back in hiking shape. There are three of us here at the Lost Pond Shelter tonight, all in tents. We had great weather today and the 10 day forecast looks great. It is just cool enough tonight that the sleeping bag will feel great. Until next time. Sent from my iPhone
Date: 2013-08-17
From: Lost Pond Shelter

To: Minerva Hinchey Shelter
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: clear sky

We were on the trail this morning at 6:30. The first half of the day we walked on trail that was mostly flat, but had a lot of roots and rocks. The day ended with a pretty good climb and decent to the shelter. We walked around a nice lake and later through a pine forest (and you know how much I like those pine forests). We also ran across a couple places where hikers have shown their artistic side using rocks. I'm trying to send a video I made of it. The shelter is full tonight and there are several tents. A group of 10 came in a little while ago. We are both very tired tonight and have a big climb tomorrow. That's the price you pay for taking all those days off! I received an email from the guy that gave us a ride yesterday. He learned from reading my journal that Marilyn and I have a son that went to West Point and wanted to let me know that his older son just entered WP and they were on their way to A day (a WP thing). Their family will be having an exciting 4 years. Until next time. Sent from my iPhone
Date: 2013-08-18
From: Minerva Hinchey Shelter

To: Cooper Lodge Shelter
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: overcast clouds

After a warm night, which tends to cause sleeping problems, we were on the trail by 6:30. The morning walk was pretty uneventful, except that I heard a moose, but never did see it. At one point we had about 100 yards of rock scrambling (when you forget your hiking poles and use your hands to pull yourself up). We also reached the 500 miles to Katahdin mark. We started with 538 to do. We ended the day with a really tough climb of over 2000 feet. There was some rock scrambling there too. We are tenting at the Cooper Lodge Shelter which is near the top of the mountain, so we won't be too warm tonight. We already have jackets on. Papaw and I did another .2 mile rock scramble to get to the top so we could see the view. It was amazing. I tried taking a panorama picture of it. There are several people here tonight, and we've had some interesting conversations. Two of them are retired teachers from Xenia, Ohio. They have their dog Royce with them. We are planning a short day tomorrow to a campground where we can wash clothes, charge phones, and rest. Several pictures have been posted. There were two journal entries posted today, so don't forget to go back and check out yesterday's entry. Until next time. Sent from my iPhone
Date: 2013-08-19
From: Cooper Lodge Shelter

To: Gifford Woods State Park
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: clear sky

We were a little late this morning and didn't hit the trail until 7:00 (my fault). The temperature really dropped on top of the mountain which allowed for a good night's sleep. Most of today's hike was just getting down off the mountain. We are both starting to feel stronger, but were getting pretty tired, so we shut it down after 9 miles and are camping in Gifford Woods State Park. It is a great campground. We were able to charge phones and take a shower (the shower makes a great clothes washer also). We ran across a group of trail maintainers today as well. These are the dedicated people that build and maintain trail. Without them we couldn't be out here walking across the country. Another highlight today was some trail magic. When we got to a road after coming off the mountain, there was a cooler full of Sprite, that still had ice in it! The cooler was left by the parents of "Face Plant" who is currently hiking. Thanks to them! Tomorrow we will probably try to do a bigger day since we are rested up. 485.2 miles to go! Until next time. Sent from my iPhone