morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-06-10
From: Bears Den

To: Harpers Ferry
Miles today: 20.5
Weather: overcast clouds

June 10It is now 9:30 and I am just getting around to typing this journal entry. I am now at the Teahorse hostel in Harpers Ferry. I got into town at 3pm and headed to the outfitter. Got some new socks and looked at shoes as well as drinking 2 sodas. then walked back to the ATC headquarters. I am NOBO number 509. Had my picture taken and added to their book for 2014. Bearjuice was there so fun to catch up with him. He was heading north, so I will be chasing him again. I am thinking of taking tomorrow off, so he may be over a day ahead. Skittles went thru yesterday. I then headed over to the hostel and took a shower and started laundry. Had a nice chat with Laurel the owner. A friend of Elizabeth's then picked me up and we went out for a nice dinner. Lisa had been in Phoenix but lives just outside Harpers Ferry. After dinner she drove me around so I could get supplies. Thank you Lisa for all your help.As I was getting my laundry Elizabeth called, so had a nice chat since we had good cell reception for the first time in a while. Inside the hostel were lots of new people and 4 I knew, 42, Viking, Hoops, and one whose name is escaping me. Several people had just completed a southbound section so I got info on what's coming up.Got an email from a trailjournals reader who wanted to meet me on the trail tomorrow and bring me food. An amazing offer, but she wanted to do it during her lunch but I probably won't even be hiking by noon. Thank you so much for the offer. I continue to be impressed with the entire AT community. Oh yea, I hiked 20+ miles to get to town. Started early and was in the fog for most of the morning. It was good to get here. Saw a few section hikers, but pretty quiet overall.
Date: 2014-06-11
From: Harpers Ferry

To: Rocky Run Shelter
Miles today: 15.4

June 11Well I thought I was going to take a zero day, but felt good this morning and had my chores done, so instead of sitting around I decided to walk north. Do I call trail angel Vickie and let her know? I couldn't give her such short notice. I really enjoy meeting people like her. She is planning to meet Slim this weekend so that is cool. The forecast for the next three days is evening storms. It poured hard last night. Supposed to be more of the same the next few days. Hot, high humidity and storms. We have done well with the weather so far, so guess I shouldn't complain. Last night at the hostel was a group doing a Warrior Walk. They are all vets, but not wounded. I'm not sure their cause, but it is an organized hike with events all along the way. Only 6 hikers remain. It seems like all of them are frustrated with being on a set schedule. Anyway, I was out of the hostel right at the 10am check out. I walked the 1+ miles to town, got a quick lunch, called Elizabeth before heading back into the woods and then walked across the bridge over the Potomac River into Maryland. State number 6 of 14. The first few miles are on an old canal along the Potomac. A young guy caught me - Go Far, from Fargo. I had heard his name many times, so great to finally meet him. For the first time this hike I followed. Normally I hike alone or sometimes I will lead. Go Far set a great pace and I really enjoyed talking with him. We stopped at a shelter for a snack. There were a bunch of boy scouts there, glad I wasn't planning to stay there tonight. We moved on and came to a great litle state park. Viking was there. He is part of the Warrior walk. One of the guys was celebrating his 50th birthday so beer and cake were on the way. Normally would be fun to join in, but with storms on the way and miles to go before I sleep, we decided to move on before the beer arrived. Go Far got a text from a buddy of his so Go Far decided to go 23 miles today to catch his friend. I pulled off at the shelter 15.4 from Harpers Ferry. Glad I did as it is raining now with lots of thunder. I am dry in the shelter and Go Far is still walking. It is almost 7 and I am the only one at the shelter. It is a new shelter with space for 16. If no one else shows it will be the first time at a location alone. I don't have coverage so this won't be posted till tomorrow. It's now 7:45 and the storm is in full force. Lots of thunder and lightning and raining super hard. The trail down to the shelter is now a river. I am dry, but still need to hang my food bag so a curious bear doesn't visit tonight. Hopefully the rain will let up soon so I can run out and hang it. There is a bear pole only about 100 feet away.It was a good night. Rained all night and I did have the place to myself.
Date: 2014-06-12
From: Rocky Run Shelter

To: Raven Rock shelter
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: light rain

June 12 I had the entire place to myself last night, which was fun. Got up early and it was still raining, so took my time. The weather continues to be rainy so the trail is wet and muddy. I am looking forward to the return of dry weather. The forcasts says Saturday, so hope that is true. I think we are on 5 days in a row with rain.About 2 miles in today I passed a campground. Out of the opening pops Go Far and I didn't even break stride. I figured he had gone further last night. It was fun to hike with him again. We went through a couple state parks early, including going by the original Washington Monument. Unfortunately we were in the fog, so no views. The trail in Maryland continues to be very nice, nothing too steep or big. The shelters have been super nice as well.Overall the trail was fairly uneventful. We did catch Wings, who has been hiking with Go Far the past few weeks. We did stop at a shelter and met Wrecking Ball (a young lady) and Pack Rat. They are at the shelter with us tonight. J5 is also here as well as 3 section hikers. It is absolutely pouring again. This shelter is nice and big, so plentry of room.Trail angel Vickie contacted me this morning wanting to bring us food. She is supposed to meet us at 5:30 at the base of a side trail, just over a half mile from here, sure hope the rain lets up. Turns out the rain caused real traffic problems. Go Far and I hiked down in the rain only to find out Vickie was stuck in traffic and at least 45 minutes away. It started pouring again so we decided to head back up the hill to the shelter instead of waiting in the rain. It was very disappointing. Vickie had put in a lot of effort getting food and drinks and drove over 2 hours. Thanks for the effort, sorry it didn't work out. She is going to bring the drinks to Slim in a couple days.About 6:30 the rains stopped. Hopefully it won't rain tonight so the trail will dry out a bit. One other section hiker came in, a young lady from Portugal. It is now almost 8 and starting to rain again.
Date: 2014-06-14
From: Caledonia State Park

To: Pine Furnace state park
Miles today: 19.1
Weather: clear sky

June 14Got up this morning and headed to the restaurant across the street for breakfast. Cuz was there, one of the guys I had dinner with last night. Cuz is a typical North Carolina gentleman. Enjoyed talking with him. He has 2 more days left on his section hike. He left before me. After I finished I was walking back to the hotel and there is RW (Road Warrior) trying to hitch hike back to the park. His 6:30 ride hadn't worked out. He decided to go with me at 8.I planned to do 19 miles today. RW was not sure his feet would make it. He had had a terrible day yesterday. The weather today was ideal. After all the rain and humidity we deserved a nice day. I set my normal pace as I wanted to get to the AT museum before 4. RW kept right with me, so we ended up hiking all day together. We stopped at a shelter for lunch and Iceman, a local day hiker walks up and asks if either of us is RW. He had been following RW on trail journals and wanted to meet him. He also has been reading my journal as well. The three of us walked north on the AT to Iceman's truck where he pulls out some cold sodas. He also offered to slackpack either of us in this area. That means he would meet us in the morning and drive our packs north and meet us again at the end of the day so we would not have to carry the weight of our pack. A very generous offer, thanks Iceman.The trail continues to be nice, some rocks and some climbing, but mostly good walking. Oh, forgot to mention, a couple miles in I saw Go Far and Wings. I plan to meet them in Duncannon on Monday night to watch US vs Ghana in world cup soccer.The highlight of the day was passing the midpoint of the trail. The point is marked by a small little sign. Since they are constantly rerouting the trail the midpoint changes every year. There is a big permanent sign 4.5 north of the actual midpoint.Later in the day met Penguinman, Dirt and Denpendable Jake. We made it in time to see the museum. Then had a burger and fries at the general store. I am at the Ironmaster hostel. It is a beautiful building owned by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and run as a hiker hostel. They also have special events here. Staying here is Not Black, Bear Bag, BlueJay and Cuz rolled in late. Had a great talk with Bear Bag. He is a 24 year old going in the right direction.
Date: 2014-06-15
From: Pine Furnace state park

To: Boiling Springs
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: broken clouds

June 15Yesterday at the general store there were 5 thru hikers. Three of us had planned to do the half gallon challenge. When we got there the appeal for food was too great. I almost went solo but opted for a chocolate bar, soda, burger, fries and a pint of ice cream. Two hours later I had a 12 inch pizza as well. I will probably regret not doing the challenge, but oh well. If you enjoy eating and want to loose weight a thru hike is the way to go. I weighed myself last night, between dinners and I was 185, down from 205 at the start.RW and I took off about 7:30 after a leisurely breakfast. Cuz's wife was picking him up today, so he was done hiking. He has a permanent grin and plenty of stories, a fun guy to be around. The trail in the morning was good so we went at a quick pace. RW has put a marker of some sort at every 100 mile interval on the trail, so at the 1,100 mile mark we did up a rock number and took pictures. I had seen others back down the trail and wondered who was doing it.The morning was again quiet on the trail. When we stopped for lunch Patch came through, then Freeman. Freeman is one of characters of the trail. He is thru hiking for the first time, but has done the entire trail in sections a couple of times and this particular section 6 times. He is 1,100 miles in on a pair of boots he bought at Goodwill for $10.00. I am on my third pair of $120.00 shoes. He looks like Santa with a jolly face and a long white beard. He builds a fire to cook his meals. His external frame pack is probably from the 60s.The afternoon was slower walking due to constant ups and downs and uneven terrain. When we got to Boiling Springs it was a pretty little town. They have a great water park on the south end so we were greeted with the sounds of kids laughter. We then walked along a crystal clear lake. The hotel we are staying at is probably the nicest I have stayed at on the trail and they give us a hiker discount of $40.00 a night. Amazing deal. They are known for their sticky buns. They look like the ones from the Dog Team Tavern, so I bought a box for breakfast tomorrow. I plan to hike 25+ into Duncannon so want to get an early start. USA vs Ghana soccer is tomorrow night so I want to catch up with Go Far to watch the game.There are several hikers in town. RW and I had dinner with Penguinman. Dog and Scout (female) are also at this hotel. Saw Freeman and Dreads this evening as I was walking back to our hotel. Iceman the trail angel from yesterday was here in town as well. How cool to see him again. He gave us a cold soda then drove us the mile to the hotel, waited for us to check in, then drove us back to town. He offered to pick up my pack tomorrow afternoon and drop it off in Duncannon so I wouldn't have to carry the weight. He even offered to lend me his day pack. Great offer, but I decided to carry my pack.
Date: 2014-06-16
From: Boiling Springs

To: Duncannon
Miles today: 25.2

June 16Another great day on the trail. I was planning a 25+ mile day so started before 6:30. Said my good byes to RW and walked the half mile back to the trail. Oh, btw, the Allenberry Resort is the best deal on the trail. The room was $40 for two. It is a thru hiker special. The resort is gorgeous. An amazing deal for us. Normally the rooms are $149 a night.OK, back to the hike. The first 12 miles today were very flat and easy. The trail was part through woods and part through active farmland. Its great the farmers allow us to hike trough their active fields. Sometimes we walk along corn or soybean or just through a hay field. We also crossed a couple interstates this morning. A couple hours in I caught J5. We met a few nights ago at the rainy shelter when the trail magic fell through. I slowed my pace slightly so we could walk together. J5 is basically the same age as me. We had some great conversation. I have now hiked over 1, 500 miles of the AT counting my section hikes and had my first political conversation. Obviously our views are very similar. Early afternoon we passed Muskrat and Business Casual. Muskrat and J5 are both Navy guys so they had fun comparing experiences. J5 was a long time officer and Muskrat showed great respect. Seems like a nice kid.J5 did not plan to hike all the way into Duncannon, but was doing great so kept moving with me. We got to town just after 4. After stopping at the first store for a soda we continued on to the Doyle Hotel, a hiker destination. Out front were Go Far and Bear Juice, both getting ready to leave. I told Go Far that I rushed to get here just to watch soccer with him. (Just kiddingly) They are both great guys, maybe I'll be able to catch them, who knows. Also at the Doyle is RW. He hiked for about 14 miles then got a ride here. He plans to rest tomorrow then go back and hike the remaining 11 miles. Also here is Spot and Rewind. The 5 of us went down the street for ice cream. When we returned Skittles, Patch, Twist, Scout and Hawg Driver were here having dinner. It is amazing to think that when I left this morning I was thinking I wouldn't know anyone. The trail continues to surprise me in a positive way. I am sharing a room with J5 tonight. We will hike out together tomorrow. J5 isn't sure how far he wants to go tomorrow. There is water 4 miles from here then 15 without, so you pretty much have to do 19. I would like to do 24. The terrain looks good, we shall see how bad the rocks are.The next trail town is 68 miles from here, so 3 days of about 23 miles, or 4 days of shorter miles. I would like to do it in 3 days.
Date: 2014-06-17
From: Duncannon

To: random campsite
Miles today: 24.4
Weather: clear sky

June 17The Doyle Hotel was an interesting place. Definitely a hiker destination, so the social side was great. The building was once a beautiful brick 4 story structure right on Main Street. Today it is just run down, as is the town of Duncannon. I have no idea why this town is run down while Boiling Springs was a thriving little town.Six of us were at the door of the restaurant across the street at 6am. A few locals had gone in the back door and were already sitting at the counter when we entered. At 6:15 we had not even been acknowledged, so J5 and I walked out and went to the mini mart and got a couple things. We were following the white blazes through town by 6:30. We had about 1 1/2 miles of road walking to get to the bridge to cross the Susquehanna River. Unfortunately it was so foggy we couldn't see very much. Once across the bridge we climbed up on to a ridge which we followed most of the morning. There was a long dry stretch so had to carry lots of water. It was humid and forecast to be 90 today.J5 and I pulled into a shelter about 11 for an early lunch. When we arrived the shelter was empty. A few minutes later a couple section hikers arrived, then came Skittles, Rewind, Patch, Spot and Catfish. I called Elizabeth at 11:45. She is working in Dallas right now. J5 had taken off while I was on the phone so he was about 20 minutes ahead. I took off at a quick pace, but between the heat, humidity and rocks soon realized I better slow down. Two hours up the trail I finally caught J5. He was talking with Go Far. We were thirsty and knew there was a spring not too far ahead as well as a stream to swim in. When we arrived at the stream Skittles was already there. Over the next 20 minutes the entire cast of characters was reunited. Boy did the water feel great. I hung around for a bit, but still had a thousand foot climb and 7.6 miles to go to where we planned to tent. It was tough leaving the stream. Just after climbing I realized I once again forgot to take pictures, bummer.Skittles and Patch did a 28 mile day and went to the next shelter. J5, Go Far and I are camping after a 24.4 miles day. Thats 49.6 miles the past two days for me. I am still feeling great. It is 9:15 as I am typing this lying in my tent. Another hot day is forecast for tomorrow, so plan to get an early start.
Date: 2014-06-18
From: random campsite

To: 501 shelter
Miles today: 22.4
Weather: overcast clouds

June 18Had a great nights sleep in my tent. It did rain last night, but not too hard. This morning Go Far was up and moving before 6. J5 was right behind and I was last out at 6:15. The nice thing about not being first is I was not breaking the trail of cobwebs. Another hot humid day, so sweating like crazy. I again was feeling strong and moving well. I caught up with J5 and we hiked together again. We have a lot in common. He is meeting his wife this afternoon, so we will be parting ways today. Hopefully our paths will cross somewhere north of here.J5 and I stopped for a early lunch and Bear Juice joined us. Shortly after that I met Busky. He is having leg problems and may have to get off the trail. I wish him the best. A bit after that I caught Bear Bag and Not Black. We chatted and I ended up hiking with them for a while. I enjoy their company and we walk a very similar pace. Skittles caught us and the 4 of hiked for a bit.Our destination was the 501 shelter. The shelter is fulled enclosed, has a shower and you can get pizza delivered. Just before the shelter a trail maintainer was at a road crossing with snacks and cold drinks. Always love getting trail magic. Unfortunately J5 and I miscommunicated. I stopped at a shelter to wait for him, but he walked by. Skittles stopped at the shelter as well, so not a big deal to wait. When I arrived at the trail magic J5 had just moved on to hike the last 2 miles. His wife was still there so fun to meet her.Digger was at the shelter when I arrived. He took off to go 5 more miles. Lots of familiar faces here, so a fun evening. Short Stop is also here. I met him in Maine in 2012 and saw him again down south at a church breakfast. Tomorrow is 24 miles to Port Clinton. I was hoping to stay 2 nights and take a day off, but the hotel is full. We will see what happens. Things always seem to work out on the trail, so hopefully that happens tomorrow.
Date: 2014-06-19
From: 501 shelter

To: Port Clinto
Miles today: 24.1
Weather: light rain

June 19If I had written thisba few hours ago and followed Thumper's mom advice "If you don't have nothing nice to say, don't say nothing at all." this would be a very short entry. Last night was another stormy night. Fortunately I was in a shelter. The plan was to hike 24+ miles to Port Clinton. There is one hotel in Port Clinton with 7 rooms and no reservations. There is another hotel a few miles south, but they were already full. Several of us were headed to Port Clinton, so I was not sure how the room situation would work out. Brar Bag and Isn't Black were headed out before 6, so I tagged along. They hike a very similar pace, so it works out well.The trail was very wet after last night's storms. We were also walking in a fog, so 100% humidity. We started off making great time. At a road crossing about 10 miles in we saw Dragon Lady, J5's wife. She offered us sodas, which we gladly accepted. She was waiting for J5, but he was about an hour behind us. As we were chatting it started to rain. It ended up raining the rest of the day. The terrain was off an on rocky, so tough walking. We saw a ciuple SOBO section hikers and Skittles and Patch both caught us. The final descent into town was very steep and slippery. All 3 of us were ready to be done.Skittles was meeting his girlfriend and had offered to give us a ride if we had trouble getting a place to stay. Fortunately we got rooms at the Port Clinton hotel. Thanks Skittles for the generous offer. I had planned to stay in town and rest for a day since it has been about 500 miles since I have taken a day off from hiking. Bear Bag and Isn't Black also decided to zero tomorrow. Patch may also stay in town. It was just a tough day with the rain and rocks. It was great to get to town, get a room, shower, and do laundry. The hotel has a restaurant and the food was really good. Two different people told us the fire station has a private club (bar) but that hikers are welcome. We obviously had to check it out. Beer is $1.25 and served in a frosted mug. To get in you need to go to a locked door and push a button and get buzzed in. I really enjoy seeing small town America and the wonderful support given to the hiking community. We were joking how a tough day sure ended on a good note. We are tired, but no health issues. Hopefully tomorrow I will write a first half of the trail recap. Again it is after 9 as I write this. Thanks for reading.
Date: 2014-06-20
From: Port clinton

To: Port Clinton
Miles today: 0.0

June 20This is just my third day off and first in almost 500 miles. I feel good and it is a great weather day, so a little tough sitting still. I should rest since there is still almost a thousand miles to go. It is pretty cool that we have hiked over 1,200 miles so far. I am really looking forward to the second half of the journey. I thought today would be a quiet day and I would have time to write a recap of the first half of my hike. This morning I walked 2 miles south to a Wal-Mart and had a late breakfast at a Subway that was in the store. I called my mom and talked with her for over an hour. Just as I was getting done with her Digger shows up and we talk for half an hour. I then headed over to Cabellas and got a few things. I sat on a bench and started this entry and Bear Bag and Isn't Black walk up. We chat a bit then walk over to Wal-Mart to get food. After walking back to the hotel it was time for a late lunch. World cup soccer is on so lunch took a while. I then try and figure out a plan for the next few days so I can meet my step mother on Tuesday. I then am trying to organize for an early departure tomorrow when Short Stop swings by. He is headed down for dinner so I told him I would go down and join him. Brave just showed up in the room next door.She is also moving right along on the trail. Overall a great rest day. Elizabeth is making flight reservations tonight to come visit over the fourth of July. I hope to get to Connecticut by then.Off to meet Short Stop.