morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-06-09
From: Wise Shelter

To: Dickey Gap
Miles today: 16.1

47162 steps. As I went through the corral called the Scales leaving the Grayson Highlands area, I met A 2011 thru hiker, Mothership, on a section hike with her dog (also a 2011 thru hiker) and another hiker named Grits. Grits gave me some trail bars and helped me get my pack over the tight high fence intended to contain horses.
Date: 2013-06-10
From: Dickey Gap

To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: light rain

39070 steps. Hiked in cool wet weather to Partnership Shelter. This is one of the nicer shelters, with a free shower. There is a Visitor Center nearby where you can get pizza delivered, and also a 50 cent shuttle to Marion VA, which has a supermarket and department store. I ordered pizza with Glacier and Red Riding Hood. Unfortunately, you can't camp near the shelter, so it was crowded and noisy.
Date: 2013-06-11
From: Partnership Shelter

To: VA 729
Miles today: 9.4

32779 steps. I caught the morning shuttle to Marion to resupply and didn't get started hiking until 1 pm or so. The hike went through lots of grass and pasture areas. I stopped just one or two miles south of Atkins, the crossing of I-81, where I planned to have breakfast at a truck stop the next morning. Camped in Rhododendrons.
Date: 2013-06-12
From: VA 729

To: Brushy Mountain South of Knob Maul Shelter
Miles today: 14.8

46054 steps. Had a Hiker Breakfast and lots of coffee at The Barn in the morning, where I also charged my phone. In the afternoon, I missed a turn in the AT looking for water, and went about a half mile on another trail, it was probably the Crawfish horse trail. I figured it out and backtracked when I saw orange diamond blazes instead of white blazes, and only lost about half an hour. Toward the evening there was trail magic after I crossed VA 42. A church group had left sodas and PBJ sandwiches for hikers there. As I was making my selection, Sam, a trail maintainer from the PATH Trail club drove up and I talked with him for awhile. I camped on top of the next mountain, because the sun was setting as I was up there and I didn't want to climb down to the next shelter in low light.
Date: 2013-06-13
From: Brushy Mountain South of Knob Maul Shelter

To: Chestnut Knob Shelter
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: light rain

30582 steps. I got downhill to the shelter in the morning and made coffee and had breakfast there with Hummingbird. I stopped for lunch at Lick Creek and got in the creek and rinsed some of my clothes there. Then there was a heavy rain and tall grass, so I got soaked again after I had dried off. I stopped in The shelter on top of the Bald. It was an unusual shelter, an enclosed building with a door. It kind felt like a Swiss ski chalet. It was packed with hikers, mostly familiar to me. Some of them staged a shadow puppet show with puppets cut from magazine pages and a candle light source. There were several hammocks hanging from the rafters as well as the sleeping platforms, all full beyond capacity. I slept underneath a hammock containing Dennis and his puppy Supa. Supa fell on me about 4 AM and I yelled out, thinking in my sleep that she was a raccoon crawling on me. I woke up everyone else.
Date: 2013-06-16
From: Brushy Mountain South of Jenny Knob Shelter

To: Dismal Creek Falls
Miles today: 10.1

40898 steps. The sole started coming off my right shoe, and sticks and pebbles came in a hole in the side. Made a half mile side trip to Trents Grocery, where I bought some food, took a shower and did laundry. Took the side trail to the Falls and had dinner there. Camped along Dismal Creek, which provided nice music for sleeping. There was rain in the night, but the creek was louder.
Date: 2013-06-17
From: Dismal Creek Falls

To: Sugar Run Gap
Miles today: 13.0

40250 steps. I saw two crawdads in the trail near different stream crossings. They each put up there claws and oriented so the claws were facing me and walked backward. I know a song with the line "Watch them crawdads backing back", but I had never seen the behavior before. I also saw a spotted fawn near the trail, it bounded off and watched me from 20 feet away. I stopped for lunch at Wapiti Shelter and talked with The Dude, a southbound hiker, for awhile. There was a hungry female deer hovering near the shelter. I taped up my shoe with duct tape, but it didn't last more than two miles before it came off. I put some on the inside to keep the pebbles out. I took the gravel road at Sugar Run Gap to Woods Hole Hostel. This was one of the best places yet on the trail. It is a farm. The hikers help make dinner and breakfast from the locally grown greens and eggs. There is yoga and meditation, massage is available. It was a lot of fun and a good rest.
Date: 2013-06-18
From: Sugar Run Gap

To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 10.4

44294 steps. In the morning, I found some size 12 boots in the hiker box at the hostel. I carried my other shoes just in case and wore the "clown shoes". They let in a lot of water, but kept out the sticks and pebbles. I slipped in the mud on top of the ridge and bruised my knee on a rock, but not too bad. On to Pearisburg to buy new shoes at Walmart.
Date: 2013-06-22
From: Rocky Gap - VA 601

To: Niday Shelter
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: scattered clouds

51763 steps. In the morning I stopped at Laurel Creek Shelter for water and met some hikers carrying juggling equipment. They showed me their routine, which was pretty good, and let me try their clubs. Saw a Box turtle on the trail, not near water, but climbing a sandy cliff.I stayed in the shelter rather than setting up my tarp, hoping to get an early start in the morning.
Date: 2013-06-23
From: Niday Shelter

To: Four Pines Hostel - VA 624
Miles today: 16.8

60242 steps. I started out before 7 AM. I was hoping to try the Homeplace Restaurant near Catawba, which closed at 6PM on Sunday, and wouldn't open again until Thursday, when I would be many miles north.I stopped to make breakfast and coffee at the Audie Murphy monument, placed on the spot where he died in a plane crash on the mountain. There I met a day hiker, Carol. We talked for a while and she gave me some food bars. She said that the trail down from Dragon's Tooth was very steep and difficult, that it would be better to hike it without a big pack. She also said that there had been severe storms around Roanoke, that the trail might have many trees down and impassable spots.I made pretty good speed all day, but as Carol had warned me, the trail down from Dragon's Tooth was very difficult. I had already gone 15 miles when I got there, and was very tired. The last two miles were climbing down vertical rock cliffs on small ledges of two inches or so. The rocks were covered with light sand, which made it difficult to get traction. Several times I slid down balanced on fingers and toes. I managed not to fall, and finally got to the road at 6pm, just as the restaurant would have been closing. I walked up the road to Four Pines Hostel, which was fun and homey, a hiker hostel in Joe's garage. There were several hikers I knew there, and some I had only heard of. I got a ride with Joe to a convenience store and got a pizza.
Date: 2013-06-24
From: Four Pines Hostel - VA 624

To: Brickeys Gap S of Tinker Cliffs
Miles today: 13.4

40369 steps. Hiked to the famous McAfee Knob, where I took Babyface's photo with his phone and he took mine with mine. I hung out there for a long time, then headed toward Tinker Cliffs. You could see the trail and the Cliffs from the Know, it looked like 15 miles or so, but it was only 5 miles. I stopped short of the cliffs and camped about a mile south on the first flat spot I had seen in several miles. It seemed I camped on an ant hill, there were dozens of large black ants crawling all over me and my stuff all night. Fortunately they didn't bite, but I didn't sleep well, brushing them off again and again.
Date: 2013-06-25
From: Brickeys Gap S of Tinker Cliffs

To: Daleville
Miles today: 12.3

44163 steps. I continued on to Tinker Cliffs, to look back on McAfee Knob. I didn't stay long, because I was in a hurry to get to the water source at the next shelter downhill. After climbing back up to the power lines on the mountain, I could see jets landing at Roanoke Airport. It was steep and slippery climbing down from there in the dry dust. Then after several miles the trail came out of the woods right onto a busy highway, US 220 in Daleville. There is a Hiker Crossing sign there, but no crosswalk. It seemed like most of the hikers, including me, went to the Howard Johnson Express nearby on the same side to avoid crossing the road at rush hour.
Date: 2013-06-26
From: Daleville

To: Wilson Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: scattered clouds

42046 steps. I went to the outfitter in the morning and got some more socks. I didn't get back to the trail until about 2PM. I got soaked in a big rain storm, but there wasn't anywhere to escape it, so I jut continued hiking through it. At the top of the first climb out of town I stopped at the shelter to wring out my socks and played a game of chess with Packrat. I lost, but it was a good game. Then I continued on and arrived at Wilson Creek shelter just as darkness fell. I set up my tarp and cooked in the dark, occasionally turning on my headlamp. I think some moths might have flown into my food as I was cooking it, it wasn't very good. I also made a lot of noise, dropped my empty pan on the ground, while people were trying to sleep in the nearby shelter. I resolved to not try cooking after dark again.
Date: 2013-06-27
From: Wilson Creek Shelter

To: Cove Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: moderate rain

41208 steps. In the morning I passed several amazing 3-D spider web structures: funnels and paraboloids. There were several orange salamanders in the trail. I saw a dung beetle in the path, pushing a mud ball about the size of a spinning nickel up the trail. There was a second beetle riding on the ball, I couldn't tell whether it was helping, or fighting for the resource. I had seen a pair of beetles in a similar pose back on the day I stayed at Niday shelter. I took a short video of these beetles.
Date: 2013-06-28
From: Cove Mountain Shelter

To: Thunder Hill Shelter
Miles today: 17.2
Weather: scattered clouds

55399 steps. As I climbed Floyd Mountain, I saw my first rattlesnake. It was lying in the trail, in the sun. It was about five feet long. I heard it first, rattling loudly. I didn't even feel startled, as I usually do when I see snakes in the trail. I just thought, "How polite, how courteous this snake is". Most snakes just lunge, but this one warns you, "Give me a moment, while I move off the trail". The snake slowly moved into the grass to the left of the trail. I waited and then moved past on the right of the trail.
Date: 2013-06-30
From: Glasgow, VA

To: Punchbowl Shelter
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: scattered clouds

36990 steps. We got a ride back to the trail from Marty, a trail angel. I didn't get started until about 1 PM. It was hot and there was a long climb, so I didn't get very far. Then I got soaked in a big storm before landing at the shelter, where I set up in the rain.
Date: 2013-07-03
From: Seely Woodworth Shelter

To: Harpers Creek
Miles today: 14.2

46970 steps. In the morning, there was hard rain, and I didn't want to go to the spring to get water, so I caught some rain from the edge of my tarp to make coffee and oatmeal. I stopped for lunch at The Priest Shelter, named for the Priest mountain. The trail journal there was fun, most of the entries started with "I confess", for example: "I confess that I do not filter my water".
Date: 2013-07-04
From: Harpers Creek

To: Humpback Mountain
Miles today: 15.5

45705 steps. The fourth of July was rainy and misty, another day of mostly climbing. I greeted some day hikers with "Happy Independence Day", and one of them offered me a sprinkler. I declined, I thought I might just burn holes in some of my nylon stuff with the sparks and ruin my gear. I camped on a mountain top in the woods. I could hear the bass notes of some music from a distant party. When the fireworks started, the music stopped. I couldn't see the fireworks. I was near a cliff, but didn't want to walk through the woods in the dark to watch from there. I heard the booms and saw the light bouncing off the clouds.
Date: 2013-07-05
From: Humpback Mountain

To: Waynesboro
Miles today: 11.5

51275 steps. I got to Rockfish Gap in the late afternoon and called one of the numbers of the trail angels posted there for a ride into town. I got a room to dry out and recover from all the rain. There were two laundromats within walking distance, but they were both closed by the time I got to them. I bought too much food at the grocery store because I had come into town out of food and fuel.
Date: 2013-07-06
From: Waynesboro

To: Little Calf Mountain
Miles today: 5.5

25162 steps. Early in the morning I returned to one of the laundromats and washed my clothes. Then I used the hotel guest desktop to fill in some of the journal entries. I rode along with some other hikers who had arranged a ride with a trail angel to Rockfish Gap outfitters, on the way out of town, to shop for new shoes. I got some trail runners, a cross between sneakers and hiking boots. These replaced the sneakers I had bought at the Pearisburg Walmart which were already worn through the soles. The new shoes felt great. I upgraded some of my other gear too, and sent some of what I wasn't using home. Then I got a ride with the same angel who had driven me into town and got back on the trail in the late afternoon. I only made it 5 and a half miles before dark and camped near the trail in the woods.
Date: 2013-07-07
From: Little Calf Mountain

To: Blackrock Hut
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: broken clouds

40343 steps. Entered Shenandoah Park. I stayed in a crowded shelter which had three hikers I had met at the hotel in Waynesboro, and several hikers new to me. There was a large bear crashing through the woods near the shelter, but it didn't bother us. A dog with one of the hikers barked at each incoming hiker, but remained silent about the bear.
Date: 2013-07-08
From: Blackrock Hut

To: Pinefield Hut
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: overcast clouds

40159 steps. On this second day in Shenandoah National Park, I came to the first of several campstores in the afternoon. I got some coffee there and charged my phone for awhile. My phone first said that the SD card was corrupt, then that it was blank. I may have lost all of the photos for the first 900 miles of the hike. I took the card out, for fear that the phone might overwrite some photos which might be recovered later at home in another card reader.A few miles later I came to the first wayside restaurant. It was past breakfast hours, but the friendly short order cook agreed to make blueberry pancakes and eggs for me anyway. I was pleased, because I never had time to get pancakes and eggs in Waynesboro, and was still hungry for them.
Date: 2013-07-10
From: North of South River Picnic Area

To: Rock Spring Hut
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: overcast clouds

46460 steps. I came to the second camp store in the morning and used the coin op shower there. Then in the late afternoon I came to the second restaurant and rested and ate there. As I went on past the lodge, I saw another young bear. I was hurrying to get to the hut before dark, but I stopped at a vista for a conversation with some friendly Swedish tourists, Stefan and Maria. They gave me some ginger tea and ginger snap cookies. They were touring the Appalachians by car and camping in the parks. They planned to got to the Smokies as well. Stefan wanted a photo of me, so I asked him to take one with my phone as well. It's a pretty good photo. I made it to the hut just a little past dusk. Several familiar hikers were there. Everyone was restless all night. In my case I think it was the afternoon coffee I'd had at the restaurant. Also, there was 3G reception in the shelter, a rarity.
Date: 2013-07-12
From: Byrds Nest #3 Shelter

To: Range View Cabin
Miles today: 12.6

39209 steps. I was looking forward to the last of the wayside restaurants and camp stores in Shenandoah Park at Elkswallow. It was a little disappointing after the other wayside restaurants, just a lunch counter with no place to sit down, but I stayed there out of the rain until they closed at 7pm and then went another mile up the trail where I found a campsite under pine trees. For some reason, probably because of all the rain, dozens of slugs were crawling onto my groundcloth under my tarp all night. I turned on my light every half hour or so to scoot them off back to the pine needles, but they kept coming. I woke up with slug stains on the back of my sweater, where they had crawled under me. They were in my boots and all over my gear too. Like snails without shells, most of them had antennae and they left a trail of slime.
Date: 2013-07-14
From: Tom Floyd Wayside

To: Front Royal, VA
Miles today: 2.9

27215 steps. I got to the road in the morning and got a ride into town, the local pancake place. I left my pack at the tourist office and explored the town and resupplied, but eventually decided to get a hotel room rather than find my way back to the trail. Willow and Skywalker later showed up at the same hotel. I had been on a similar schedule with them through most of Shenandoah Park, sharing shelters. We went to dinner at the Old Mill.
Date: 2013-07-17
From: Sam Moore Shelter

To: David Lesser Shelter
Miles today: 14.1

49783 steps. Working through the 13.5 mile "roller coaster" of steep climbs and descents. Again hiking with Willow and Skywalker. In the morning we pushed to get to Bears Den hostel before 9am where we heard you could get blueberry pancakes. I didn't get there until 10 after nine, but we still got pancakes. Willow cooked them. Skywalker's niece met us there to hike along into Harpers Ferry. Willow and I stopped at Blackburn trail center in the evening where we were treated to watermelon, ice pops, spaghetti and beer. That was worth sticking around for, especially the watermelon. We ended up staying until an hour before sunset, so had to do some night hiking to get to David Lesser Shelter, but we really only had to use lights for the final half hour or so. Slept on the porch of the full shelter, looking up at the stars.
Date: 2013-07-18
From: David Lesser Shelter

To: Harpers Ferry, WV
Miles today: 8.6

32387 steps. It was very hot and there was no water for the final 8 miles into Harpers Ferry, but I had filled up my bottles the night before at Blackburn Trail Center. We all arrived at the ATC headquarters about noon and got our photos taken for the book. I was Northbound thru hiker number 1080. Then I was sitting on the porch and saw my family drive up to hang out with me for a couple of days of rest and reunion.
Date: 2013-07-20
From: Harpers Ferry, WV

To: Gathland State Park
Miles today: 10.7

35245 steps. I didn't get started until the afternoon. There was little water on the trail until the tap at Gathland State Park. When I got there I cooked and filled up my bottles, then backtracked to the south a bit to camp so I could use the water source again in the morning.
Date: 2013-07-24
From: Tumbling Run Shelter

To: Quarry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.2

36791 steps. I got ten miles in before lunch time, but then arrived at Caledonia State Park where I went a half mile off trail to go to a restaurant for more pizza, then got a shower at the state park pool. It was only two miles to the Quarry Gap Shelter, and I intended to go further, but the shelter was so nice, with hanging flower pots, Pennsylvania Dutch decorations, and a sundial, that I stayed.
Date: 2013-07-25
From: Quarry Gap Shelter

To: Pine Grove Furnace State Park
Miles today: 17.3

48037 steps. It was a cool dry sunny day, perfect weather for hiking. I passed the official halfway point of the AT at 4pm and arrived at the park by 6pm. This is where it is traditional to do the "half gallon challenge" and eat a half gallon of ice cream, but I've just been getting a pint every 275 miles. That seems more manageable. So I had my fourth pint of ice cream here. Stayed at a hostel in a historic mansion.
Date: 2013-07-27
From: PA 94

To: Boiling Springs, PA
Miles today: 8.8

28367 steps. In the morning it occurred to me that I could get my Driver's License renewed while I was in PA. I phoned my husband in Pittsburgh and asked him to come meet me at Boiling Springs. He agreed and I hurried down the trail to meet him in time to make it to the Photo Center in Carlisle before they closed at 4 pm. There were two Rock Mazes mentioned in the guidebook and I wondered what was coming up. They were short paths through high rock walls. In one place I had to take off my pack and lift it ahead before I climbed up myself.
Date: 2013-07-29
From: Darlington Shelter

To: Duncannon, PA
Miles today: 11.4

36862 steps. There was not much water on the trail between Darlington Shelter and Duncannon, so I started the day filling my bottles aty the spring downhill from the shelter. My friend Willow, who got off the trail in Harper's Ferry, WV had sent me a package of mosquito netting and dehydrated food to Duncannon. I made it to town before the Post Office closed at 5pm, but not quite to the Post Office itself. I stayed at the Doyle Hotel, which I had heard was not to be missed.
Date: 2013-07-30
From: Duncannon, PA

To: Peters Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: overcast clouds

36181 steps. I picked up the package from Willow in the morning. It was full goodies: dehydrated beans and rice, dehydrated vegetables and Gatorade as well as the mosquito net I could use with my tarp. Leaving town and crossing the Juniata and Susquehenna Rivers, the trail followed roads for a long time in the morning, then finally went into the woods and straight up Peters mountain, where it followed the ridge after the climb. I stayed at Peters Mountain Shelter. I could hear some kind of rock or country concert in the distant valley below. Gump arrived at the shelter just before dark. I hadn't seen him since Daleville.
Date: 2013-07-31
From: Peters Mountain Shelter

To: Rausch Gap Shelter
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: clear sky

52185 steps. It was a long day in light rain. I didn't see anyone on the trail all day after Gump left the shelter in the morning. There were fighter jets flying screaming loops overhead all day. Late in the afternoon a rattler under a log along side the trail warned me. I arrived at the shelter as it was almost dark. It was a very dark in the shelter. I would have rather stayed under my tarp, but didn't want to set it up in the dark, so stayed under the roof. It rained in the night. Two mice were running on the ground near the shelter, but they didn't come up the stairs onto the sleeping platform. Well after dark I heard rapid automatic rifle fire over and over. I had tentatively arranged to meet my friend Kelly the next morning by text message, but then I didn't have reception again, so I wasn't sure whether she had agreed.