morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2023-06-15
From: HarperÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Creek Campsite

To: ReidÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Gap
Miles today: 8.0

Today was a really great day! We woke up and put 8 miles in before noon so we could spend our day off trail at Devil¢s Backbone Brewery with a bunch of other hikers.Bandit told us that taking side adventures was called purple blazing. He heard another hiker come up with the idea, and it stuck. On our app called FarOut, a lot of restaurants and towns are identified in purple bubbles. That¢s where the color purple comes from. Side adventures are good for the spirit. We we got to the gap to hitch to the brewery, we got trail magic from a mom whose son hiked last year! She was so kind. She took many trips to take hikers to the brewery. Moose Jaw and I didn¢t want to intrude, so we hitched a ride. The driver¢s name was Nancy and she had a big fluffy white husky with one blue eye and one brown eye. She likes to hike small sections. She was so kind to pick us up!!As we were hiking on trail before we arrived to the gap, Toaster, Bandit, Moose Jaw, and I all talked about times we cried on trail and why. That was a wholesome conversation and we really learned a lot about each other. Not every time we cried was for bad reasons, either. We also shed tears of joy. We are all so grateful to be out here! During lunch at the Brewery, Masters told us about five star poops. 1 Star - Good View2 Stars - Clean Wipe3 Stars - See Wildlife While Pooping4 Stars - Wildlife Makes Eye Contact With You While You are Pooping5 Stars - Wildlife Makes Eye Contact With You While You are Pooping and While They are Pooping We ate so much food at the brewery. Masters, Bob Ross, Stogie, Toaster, Bandit, Moose Jaw, and I all hung out together today. Next to the Brewery, there was a campground owned by the brewery. There was an area called Tent City where we got to camp for free! It was awesome and flat! Then we got free showers in the Bathhouse. The lady working the entrance gave Moose Jaw body wash to use. It¢s wild how low our standards are. I used body wash on my body and my hair and I was ecstatic! It¢s crazy how the little things make us happy out here on trail! Today, Bandit said we are just living life at 2 miles per hour out here on trail. And I love that. We can¢t get to anywhere fast, but we get there by our own steam and on our own time. I wish more people including us lived life at 2 mph (outside of trail).Quote of the day: ¢A thru-hike will ruin your life for the better.¢At tent city I caught up on watching a ton of memes that my friends have sent me. My friend Mo sent me a meme today that had me laughing so hard! It was a video of a girl saying, ¢Have you seen my friend? Brunette. Stunning. Looks like she¢d stab you.¢ Then told me that was me. I cried because I was laughing so hard! Forgot about this story from a few weeks back. We were in the shelter and Nicholas was smoking a Black and Mild. CT sniffs the air and says, ¢Black and milds,¢¦ smells like poverty.¢
Date: 2023-06-16
From: ReidÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Gap

To: Paul Wolfe Shelter
Miles today: 14.3

Mood: °Today was a great day! Moose and I were flying!!! We got a ride back to the trailhead from the brewery around 9:30. It was so funny, because Toaster and Bandit were sad they didn¢t get a hitch yet. As they started to walk towards trail, Moose and I were fixing our packs. While fixing our packs a gentleman showed down and asked us if we needed a ride. We said we were just getting started, but thanked him for the offer! Toaster and Bandit were so jealous. It made us laugh so hard!! I told them it was my good looks and sparkling personality. However, we all know it¢s really Moose Jaw¢s good looks. We took a side trail today during lunch to Humpback Rocks. We had an amazing view during lunch. Not long into lunch we saw some bad weather headed our way. So, we got back to walking in the thunderstorm that arrived. It wasn¢t bad walking in the rain. It was actually kind of nice!!We talked a lot about things we want to do when we are done with trail today. As we (Bandit, Toaster, Moose Jaw, and I) arrived to camp we soaked our feet in the gorgeous and flowing creek. It was so nice!!! We had a wonderful time. Then during dinner we got a fire started. Stogie and Bob Ross joined us along with the Quebec couple and a new couple from England (Chef and Sherlock).Stogie - *tending the fire using a giant log that¢s almost to big to carry* ¢Why use a fly swatted when a grenade will do.¢We all had a wonderful evening! This has been a great crew we¢ve been running with recently!! Just all in all a fabulous day!!If you have ever seen the movie Holes, you know this quote: ¢I¢m tired of digging holes, grandpa!¢ - Granddaughter. ¢Well, that¢s too damn bad!¢ - GrandpaSo we like to use this quote a lot¢¦. ¢I¢m tired of walking miles, Moose Jaw.¢ - Chili P. ¢Well, that¢s too damn bad!¢ - Moose Jaw
Date: 2023-06-17
From: Paul Wolfe Shelter

To: Waynesboro, VA
Miles today: 4.8

Today was GREAT!We were out of camp before 8, so we could get to town early. Before we new it, we made it to Reid¢s Gap and there was Trail Magic!!! YAY!!! And a funny sign that said slow down, ¢Free Range Hikers Ahead.¢ That saying made me feel like a chicken, which made me giggle! Trail Magic was awesome! This gentleman, his girlfriend, and his friend put on some amazing trail magic. Plenty of food including fresh fruit and veggies. Soda and beers were aplenty! We even got to sit in some lawn chairs and use massage guns to massage our calves. It was tough!! I really liked talking to the Trail Angels. They were side kind and enthusiastic! We hung out with them for two hours until we decided to head to our hostel to shower and do laundry. When we do our laundry, they offer loner clothes to wear so I (chili pepper) wore men¢s boxers and a t-shirt. When I washed our laundry, I told one of the gentleman that worked here that my jacket doesn¢t go in the dryer, just in case someone decides to switch my laundry before I got to it. When I went to switch our laundry, I saw a sticky note that said, ¢Do not put Chili P¢s Jacket in the Dryer¢¦ if you do, she knows karate.¢ I laughed so hard! It was adorable! As we were about to head to an all you can eat Chinese buffet (I was still in the loner boxers and looking every bit of hiker trash that people call us), we wrote our names with chalk on the side of the hostel. It was a lot of fun doing that!! Surprisingly the Chinese buffet was AWESOME! I was miserably full. I was happy we had to walk back to the hostel. But of course, we got ice cream on our way back. We just had to!! Today was a great day. We hung out with Toaster, Bandit, Stogie, and Bob Ross today. Such a wonderful group!! Tomorrow we enter the Shenandoah National Park! We are so excited!!
Date: 2023-06-18
From: Waynesboro, VA

To: Blackrock Hut
Miles today: 20.7

We had pancakes for breakfast. Quite honestly, I¢m sick of pancakes. I would love some eggs and toast. I can¢t remember the last time I had eggs. The hostel shuttled us back to the trailhead and we entered Shenandoah National Park. It was hot today. Supposed to be the only nice day for the next week. It seems as if it¢ll be nothing but rain. We stopped for lunch at a shelter, and it was extremely buggy. So far, SNP is lackluster. No views at all today. Their camping rules are strict and water doesn¢t occur as often as what we are used to. At least we have a great crew hiking together! We walked a lot today and got into camp past 7. The Tentsite was okay. We will see if things get better. I did feel my age today. For some reason after smashing an entire bag of flaming hot Cheetos today, I randomly threw up in my mouth. It burned so bad I started gagging even more. Moose was so embarrassed. Guess I can¢t eat food like I used to!
Date: 2023-06-19
From: Blackrock Hut

To: Stealth Site
Miles today: 16.4

WE HIT 900 MILES TODAY!!We woke up and hiked as usual. A few miles in we hit up the camp store for snacks. Then another couple of miles later we went to a Wayside for burgers and fries. It was nice to eat ¢normal¢ food. But I (Chili Pepper) have a problem of binge eating when we get to town or a store. I need to slow down and pack out snacks. Not long after hitting 900 miles, thunderstorms started to roll in. We found a stealth spot, and Toaster, Bandit, Moose Jaw, and I set up our tents. Around 11 it poured!! It was so loud I had to put ear plugs in. There¢s always a dilemma when it¢s raining. Do you set up camp to beat the rain, or do you keep hiking hoping it passes over you? We were happy we set up our tents before the rain rolled through.
Date: 2023-06-20
From: Stealth Site

To: Lewis Mountain Campground
Miles today: 16.6

The Shenandoahs are not my favorite. It kind of sucks. Not many views and horrible weather. Today we did wake up and hit a great stride. We had lunch with Bandit and Toaster at some picnic tables. Stogie texted us and said that him and Bob Ross got a campsite for the evening that could fit 6 tents. This was a huge blessing! Since we are in the bubble, shelters have been filling up along with the tent sites surrounding the shelters. It was nice not worrying about getting into camp. At the campsite we went to the camp store and at a ton of snacks. They were delicious!!! We met a 2020 thru-hiker named Kar Hop. He was super kind and told us about his experience on trail. In the evening, us 6 ate dinner together and had a fire. That was super nice. Rain sprinkled today for not long. We mostly got wet from the grass and the wind blowing the rain off of the trees. Today was bad but wasn¢t great either. Just average and I¢m okay with that!
Date: 2023-06-21
From: Lewis Mountain Campground

To: Skyland Resort
Miles today: 16.7

Today sucked. It was horrible. I can¢t stand the cold rain on trail. After we made it to Big Meadows wayside, it poured all day long. And temperatures were low, in the low fifties. It was tough. And miserable. And the wind kept blowing. The Shenandoahs have been miserable. I don¢t like SNP at all. It¢s supposed to be the first day of summer. Not in SNP. UGH. I am happy that we booked a cabin for the night. But it is TINY!! Two double beds, one room, four people, four soaking wet backpacks and rain jackets, and a teeny tiny walking path to the teeny tiny bathroom. But with four of us in a tiny cabin, it was hilarious!!Tomorrow is supposed to be the same as today. We booked another hostel for tomorrow so we can still get miles in but then be warm and dry at night. But when you¢re wet and miserable, it almost doesn¢t even feel worth it. It¢s been a tough few days on trail. It¢s days like these that we remind ourselves why we are on trail. We don¢t want to be a slave to our belongings, and we want to make sure we are prioritizing the right things in life. I hope when we are done that we have changed for the better.
Date: 2023-06-22
From: Skyland Resort

To: Elkwallow Wayside
Miles today: 18.3

Mood: °We made a lot of memories today that we will definitely NOT forget!!!At three in the morning, Moose woke up to some crinkling of a wrapper. He threw off his blankets and said he had to take a look at what¢s going on. I was half awake but I heard Toaster (we were sharing a bed) say ¢I heard it too! Is that bandit?¢ Bandit was like, ¢Why would I be making that noise!?¢ Toaster said, ¢I know you like your bars! I thought you were having a snack!¢Come to find out, it was Stuart Little behind the dresser munching on Bandit¢s granola bar that was in his hip pocket. We were all laughing so hard we couldn¢t breathe!! Unfortunately we found mouse poop everywhere! Even on Bandit¢s clif bar!!!We were also laughing a lot, because Bandit said it smelled horrible on his side of the cabin by the heater. Come to find out, Moose and Toaster left their underwear next to the heater to dry! We were laughing so hard again that we were crying. We all felt bad for Bandit! But he¢s such a good sport! He never ceases to make us laugh! The next morning, of course we left while it was raining. Bob Ross and Stogie were going to meet us at the Wayside later. It was so dreary that 9 miles in when we finally took a break, we sat on the trail to eat. We didn¢t even try to get off to find a shelter. But before we knew it we made it to the wayside. We hiked 18.3 miles between 8:30-3:30!When we arrived at the wayside, we received trail magic!!! Pizza and Breadsticks!! I inhaled three slices. They were delicious!! The gentleman, Rana, gave me his dry sweatshirt to wear so I could get warm. The last mile of trail, we walked in a torrential downpour. The wayside thankfully had their heat on, but I was cold! But of course we all still had to purchase a blackberry milkshake!Once Bob Ross and Stogie arrived, Open Arms hostel picked us up! We got to do our laundry and take showers! We loved that! We all slept in the basement together and decided that hiker bodies were dumped behind the patched up brick wall. We all just laughed all night long together!!All in all, today was full of memories and pretty fun!!! So happy to be hiking with this group. We will finally be out of Shenandoah National Park tomorrow!!
Date: 2023-06-23
From: Elkwallow Wayside

To: VA Route 602
Miles today: 17.7

Back again with some more walking!! My knee was throbbing today! I¢m sure that if I take some ibuprofen it will feel better! When we were shuttled back to trail we stopped in the wayside and we all got energy drinks to drink before trail. The views were nonexistent today, because of course the mist. When we ate lunch on the side of the road, the road looked eerie due to the mist. While hiking we saw a lot of deer, and they were not scared of us at all! We were picked up by Bob at the end of our day. We were so happy to get off our feet. We went to a great Irish place for dinner, and on our drive there we saw a deer hop a tall fence. It blew our minds!! When we got back to the AirB&B we showered and hung out in the living room. It was so nice to catch up on current events and talk about trail life. The bed was the coziest!!It was a pretty good day, and I am so happy to be out of the Shenandoahs! I (Chili Pepper) think they are overrated for the AT.
Date: 2023-06-24
From: VA Route 602

To: Zero Day
Miles today: 0.0

Mood: °Today was a wonderful day!! It was our first zero in awhile (since Daleville visiting uncle Smokey). We woke up and Bob made us an incredible breakfast! Moose and I sat on the gorgeous Balcony with Denise and Bob while we ate our breakfast. We had great conversation during breakfast and I drank a lot of tea! It was so nice! There was an old school radio that we played while taking care of our chores and cleaning. It felt so nice and cozy! When Denise and Bob went into town for church, Moose and I stopped at the outfitter to get a couple of items. While we were there we saw Sherlock!! We missed him! So, we took him with us to Martin¢s to Resupply and buy groceries! From there we picked Bob and Denise up and all five of us went to dinner. The food was delicious along with the sours! Afterwards, we went to get ice cream. Denise and I sat on the indoor carousel. That was fun, but I couldn¢t spin around too much!! It was delicious!!! We then dropped Sherlock off to the hostel he was staying at and went back to the AirB&B. It was a great day!! We are so happy to be spending time with Bob and Denise.
Date: 2023-06-25
From: VA Route 602

To: Ashby Gap
Miles today: 21.4

Today we woke up and Bob and Denise slack packed us today, and they also met up with us for lunch! Prior to lunch they hiked up the trail and found us and hiked back to the car with us! On trail we saw a copperhead! It was wild!  At the end of the day, we received Trail magic from Burning Man. He hiked the entire trail last year! He was so kind in offering us some great food and drinks!! After we were done for the day, all four of us went to the restaurant PaveMint for barbecue. The food and drinks were SO SO good! Especially the barbecue sauces and blackberry ciders. When we got back to the AirB&B we had a wonderful fire where we chatted about life. It was lovely fire and conversation. After we were good and tired we finally crawled into bed.
Date: 2023-06-26
From: Ashby Gap

To: Raven Rocks Hollow
Miles today: 16.3

Today was a good day! We slept in until 8 in the comfiest bed at the AirB&B. We then packed our hiking bags and ate some breakfast with Denise. We had a lovley conversation. Then we were crawling into the Bronco to get a ride to the trailhead. When Bob and Denise dropped us off with our packs, we put our packs on them so they could feel what it¢s like to carry around a pack. This was a lot of fun! Bob was cracking us up!!Today felt slow, mostly because of HUMIDITY! We were drenched with sweat!! About 7 miles into the day, we ran into some amazing trail magic!! We ate hotdogs, brats, snickers, Doritos, bananas, cuties, chocolate chip cookies, and we each had two sodas. This was so refreshing, because we had started the portion of trail called the ¢rollercoaster¢. The trail is exactly like what it¢s called. And it was tough in the humidity. We hung out at the trail magic for awhile! The couple that was there was from Indiana AND had a son that went to the University of Cincinnati. What a small world!!! We chatted a lot with them. He thru-hiked and his wife supported him. Before his hike he got into an accident and it was a miracle that he didn¢t die nor was a paraplegic like the doctors expected. We were amazed! After trail magic, we hit¢¦1000 MILES!!!!!But I would walk 500 miles, and I would walk 500 more. Just to be the man who walked a thousand miles to fall down at your door!!ORMaking my way downtownWalking fastFaces passAnd I'm home-boundStaring blankly aheadJust making my wayMaking a wayThrough the crowdAnd I need youAnd I miss youAnd now I wonderIf I could fall into the skyDo you think time would pass me by?'Cause you know I'd walk a thousand milesIf I could just see you tonightToo many songs to choose from quite honestly! So of course we got pictures at the 1000 mile marker sign. Just to slowly make our way up the incline. The rollercoaster was slow moving today. Finally around 8 we made it to a stealth site. Unfortunately a late dinner for us, but that¢s okay! We will reunite with our friends tomorrow and make it to Harper¢s Ferry for another zero the following day! Can¢t wait!!!
Date: 2023-06-27
From: Raven Rocks Hollow

To: HarperÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Ferry, VA
Miles today: 16.7

Honestly, Moose Jaw and I were so grumpy this morning. We both definitely woke up on the wrong side of the bed. We can laugh about it now, but I¢m the morning, we were not happy for some odd reason. Not long into our hike we crossed into WEST VIRGINIA!! And then, we finished hiking the rollercoaster. That was tough! Our hike to our lunch spot at this super nice shelter wasn¢t bad. We ate our lunch there, but the hike down to water was long and steep!! I was sweating so much as I hiked back out. As we were leaving lunch we talked to Rockslide and Mama Bear. Maybe five minutes later, the sky got dark and it decided to torrential downpour on us. The rain actually felt good since it was hot today. Our shoes were soaked though, so I decided I would March through every large puddle instead of avoiding them to make it fun!The rest of the walk into Harper¢s Ferry was rough on our feet, because there were so many rocks!! We were so happy to make it to the hotel. Once we arrived we reunited with Stogie, Bob Ross, Bandit, and Toaster! We were so happy to see them! Then we also saw at least 20 other hikers! It felt like most of the inn was filled with them!We all ordered pizza for dinner and then had some Bourbon in Stogie¢s room. It was a wonderful day! Can¢t wait to sleep in in the morning!
Date: 2023-06-28
From: HarperÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Ferry, VA

To: HarperÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Ferry, VA - Zero Day
Miles today: 0.0

Today was a wonderful zero. We slept in and then got a yummy hotel breakfast! From there we walked to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy headquarters to see where we were at for the number of hikers to make it through. We started with the numbers 1637 and 1638. We walked into Harper¢s Ferry around 1016 and 1017. That¢s pretty impressive since there were over 3000 people trying to hike the trail. We got our photo at the front of the building as well!From there we walked downtown to the outfitter to pick up a couple of supplies. We had to fix Moose¢s trekking poles again. The tips came completely off his poles and we for sure lost one of the tips in a giant rock. Afterwards, Stogie, Bob Ross, Fizz, Moose, and I went to the Rabbit Hole for lunch. We were happy to get a meal for lunch that we didn¢t have to cook! Then we walked back to the hotel to take a nap and then get a shuttle ride to Walmart for a short resupply. We got an Uber, and it was sketchy! We got one to fit four people but there was room for only 3. He had his grandson with him, but we all squished in. I wish people knew how to drive their car within the painted lines, as well! I was thankful when we arrived safely!!! After Stogie, Bob Ross, Moose and I got our resupply, we met back up with Toaster and Bandit. We walked across the street to get some Mexican food for dinner. The food and margaritas were DELICIOUS!! It was a great choice!!! Back at the hotel we all gathered in Stogie¢s room and hung out while drinking bourbon. We love this group and it seems we all love hanging out together!!Today was just a wonderful day!!
Date: 2023-06-29
From: HarperÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Ferry, VA

To: Dahlgren Backpack Campground
Miles today: 18.2

Hi. We had good day. Much good. Very yes. Leaving Harper¢s Ferry we saw some gorgeous views of the rivers crashing into each other, train tracks with active trains, and Chili P. found 40 bucks randomly laying on the ground! As we got higher up into the mountains, the views were extremely Smokey due to the fires in Canada. The air quality index is not good. As we were walking up the trail, Moose got stung by a wasp (looked like it hurt). Also, he said it hurt when I poked it. Lunch was at a pavilion and a random guy living in his van let Chili P. doodle on a piece of paper for motivation to finish the day. Her feet were hurting her. She needs new shoes. Bandit told Chili P a lot about Japanese culture and about Geo-Cashing. She¢s ready to visit Japan and Geo-Cash herself. We got into camp early this evening and all six of us (Toaster, Bandit, Bob Ross, Stogie, Moose, Chili P) had dinner together! It was really nice!! Chili P is going to teach stogie how to make potatoes tomorrow. We talked to Dung Beetle and Espresso a lot tonight at dinner. We also met another hiker named Mama Bear (apparently it¢s a popular name on trail). We all went to bed early tonight. It was nice. Looking forward to another day of hiking tomorrow!
Date: 2023-06-30
From: Dahlgren Backpack Campground

To: Raven Rock Shelter
Miles today: 19.2

Today, Moose and I were a little off. I wasn¢t feeling well, and Moose was a little downcast. We are almost halfway and it¢s hard to know what to look forward to next. We studied the first half of trail, but not the second half. So, we just moseyed along the trail today. We did miss the rain that was supposed to come, so we were so happy about that. The shelter that we walked to at the end of the day was beyond full. There was a youth group there along with some Girl Scouts. It was chaos! So I slept with earplugs, and it was a great night¢s sleep!! I think tomorrow will be better.