morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-06-11
From: ROD HOLLOW SHELTER

To: BEAR'S DEN HOSTEL
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Today Miles: 10.00Total Miles: 988.6Calamity Jane and I were not on the trail until 8:30 but we only had 10 miles to travel today. This section of the trail is called the Roller Coaster. It is a 13.5 mile section with 10 pretty good climbs and descents. The climbs were steep and rocky and I was tired by the time we got to Bear's Den Hostel. But today¢s terrain was much nicer than yesterday. Yesterday we were in scrub brush with not much of a path. The trail was barely 12 inches wide for most of the day, but today we were more of an old woods area where the trail was rocky but about four feet wide. The poison ivy was much less also.When CJ arrived at Bear's Den we felt like we had walked into a fairyland with a huge stone building that sang out "WELCOME TO ALL HIKERS." They have a hiker special for $25.00. You get a bunk, shower, laundry, a whole pizza, and a pint of Ben and Jerry's Ice cream. They also supply you with cloths so you can wash everything you own. What a nice touch. It is a great place run, by Queen Diva, a wonderful women who really takes care of hikers and cares about hikers (you can tell by how she manages the place) .Here tonight are Owl, Little Cubit, Owl's mom, Silver, Calamity Jane, Buttercup and some section hikers, Ethen and two I don't remember their names. Also Snack Break is here who passed me a long time ago. She got all the way to Port Clinton, but decided to take a break and come back and help Queen Diva, before setting out again. It was good to sit and talk to her and get to know her a little. They say that this year there are fewer hikers and fewer women on the trail. There were three women thrus here tonight and Queen Diva said it was the most she had had at one time and that we only made a total of 16 that stopped here this year! We all sat upstairs and talked in the living room. It was so different than being in a shelter, but yet it was all hikers discussing what hikers talk about. It felt a little like a dream or the twilight zone. This is a beautiful place that treats you so well. I highly recommend a visit to Bear's Den.
Date: 2007-06-12
From: BEAR'S DEN HOSTEL

To: DAVID LESSER SHELTER
Miles today: 11.1
Weather: clear sky

From: Bear's Den HostelTo: David Lesser Shelter Today Miles: 11.1Total Miles: 999.7I woke up early and went upstairs and talked with Marlet (Owl's mom) for a while. I had the rest of my Ben and Jerry's ice cream for breakfast. Phish Food is my new favorite kind. Also, Snack Break made blueberry muffins for all of us. What a great Gal and I hope she gets back on the trail soon. We packed up and said goodbye to Queen Diva and left around 9:00. I hope to go back to visit there some time as it was a wonderful place and you can stay there anytime. We finally finished the "Roller Coaster" after two more hard, rocky, and long climbs. Both my arms are sore from pushing on my poles and my legs are hurting from the climbs. When we finally got to the ridge, it smoothed out some, but the rocks held on for a while. Then later on it was a walk in the woods walk and we could make better time. Calamity and I walked DOWN to the Blackburn PATC Trail Center. It is a hostel run by the ATC and it serves free spaghetti dinner to hikers every night. We only went down for water but Hopeful (who did the trail in 2005) the caretaker gave us a grape soda and we sat on the porch swing awhile. We got enough water for tonight and tomorrow as the water source at the next shelter is .4 miles down.We left there around 3:00 and headed for the David Lesser Memorial Shelter 3.2 miles away. It was starting to sprinkle so I did the whole pack cover on and rain coat available thing but then it stopped. We arrived at the shelter at 4:00 PM. I like getting to the shelter early as it gives you so much time to relax. CJ and I set our stuff out and just had some time to write and think about how well we are doing out here.Buttercup came in and set up her tent and had dinner with us. It is thundering and going to start to rain any minute now. Silver came in around dark in the rain.Calamity and I are very excited to cross the 1000-mile mark tomorrow and to get to Harper's Ferry the headquarters of the ATC. Both are huge milestones of this trip.
Date: 2007-06-13
From: DAVID LESSER SHELTER

To: ATC HARPER'S FERRY
Miles today: 8.8

From: David Lesser ShelterTo: ATC Headquarters at Harper's Ferry<Today Miles: 8.8We walked on and most of the trail was downhill with good footing, but a lot of it was somewhat rocky. Was this preparation for Penn? I am worried about the rocks we have heard so much about in Penn. I can generally walk about 2 miles an hour, but with the rocks I can't make any time and it hurts my feet. I guess I will just have to wait and see. Buttercup flew by me like I was standing still. Oh to be young and not afraid of falling. We went from 1250 feet to 270 feet getting down to Harper's Ferry. We walked across the Shenandoah River and walked to the ATC Headquarters. The ATC has been here since 1972.   We were welcomed by Peter Pan (who has hiked the trail twice) and had our pictures added to the log book of 2007 hikers. They have section and thru hikers in the book and north and south bounders, just everyone gets a different color number. Calamity Jane was 169 and I was 170. We asked some questions and found out that more than 1300 people have left from Springer which was more than last year. But there were 313 Thru hikers at Harper's Ferry on this date last year. So more have started this year but less are here! We were wondering if more people have quit or are they moving slower?Calamity Jane's mother and nephew, Austin, picked us and we are now at the Hampton Inn. It is very nice since there is a huge storm out there tonight.
Date: 2007-06-14
From: ATC HARPER'S FERRY

To: POTOMAC RIVER GOODLOE BYRON MEMORIAL FOOTBRIDGE
Miles today: 0.7

From: ATC Harper's Ferry To: Potomac River Goodloe Byron Memorial FootbridgeToday Miles: .7Total Miles: 1009.2Today we hiked only .7 miles on the AT so it was really a zero day but Calamity, her nephew Austin, and I walked the AT from the ATC Center to the Footbridge over the Potomac. Then we all walked around the historic town and saw some interesting sites. We went to the outfitters and had lunch at one of the cafes. We stopped back at the AT Center and found out that over 20 Thru hikers had come in since yesterday. Maybe the big group is catching up to us.Harper's Ferry does not really have much for hikers. There is no grocery store or place to resupply so my friend, Mary Anne, drove up from DC and resupplied Calamity and I for the next few days. Chase, Calamity's husband, is coming on Saturday to see her, maybe for the last time until she reaches Katahdin.We came back to the hotel and I walked to a place where I got my hair cut and then we started the repacking process. Back on the trail tomorrow, but it was good to have day off from walking. I don't have another zero day planned until we are out of Pennsylvania.
Date: 2007-06-15
From: POTOMAC RIVER GOODLOE MEMORIAL FOOTBRIDGE

To: CRAMPTON GAP SHELTER
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Today Miles: 10.3Total Miles: 1019.6Calamity Jane and I were on the trail at 9:30. We walked along the C&O Canal Towpath for three miles. We have crossed into another sate, YEA We are in Maryland. We were in Virginia so long it is hard to believe we went though a whole state in a day! There is a section on the old C & O canal that is covered in lime green slime but seems to have a lot of wildlife living in it. We saw two beavers, four turtles, two adult geese with their two young, and some ducklings. We also saw a baby gosling walking along the trail all by itself. I hope it found its mother before it became someone's dinner.We had lunch at Weverton Cliffs with a view of the Potomac. I had lunch at the same spot two years ago with my son, Richard, so I called and talked to him from the cliffs and took the same picture of me standing in the same spot We ran into Owl and Little Cubit three or four times today but we said goodbye as they are going to be putting in many miles now so that Little Cubit can get back to school in the fall.We stopped at the Ed Garvey Shelter for a snack and again I had spent the night there with my son.It was a pleasant, fairly easy walk to Gathland State Park where there are diplays of the Civil War era and a memorial to the War Correspondents. It is the only one of its kind in the country. The park had restrooms and a soda machine so we used both of them. And Owl and Little Cubit were there as well so again we said goodbye. We also got water for the Crampton Shelter as the water source is not very good. The shelter was built by the CCC in 1941 but it has a deck and benches and has been recently painted so it is not too bad. So far tonight it is just CJ and me, and it is cool for a June night! Later two section hikers, Jack and Spin Master came in. They are hiking from the middle of the Shenadoahs to Vermont. That is a long section hike. They called themselves LASHERs (Long Ass Section Hikers) They stayed in the shelter with us. Then Orange Moon came in but he slept on the deck, Wolf and Little Red camped as well as some others that we do not know. The empty shelter was full by dark!
Date: 2007-06-16
From: CRAMPTON GAP SHELTER

To: INTERSTATE 70 FOOTBRIDGE
Miles today: 12.5

From: Crampton Gap ShelterTo: Interstate 70 FootbridgeToday Miles: 12.5Total Miles: 1031.5The whole shelter was up and getting ready by six. The sun was shinning right into my eyes so I had no choice but to crawl out of my sleeping bag. It was the first time I had seen the sun in three days. We were on the trail about 7:30 by the time we climbed out of the gap. The Maryland trails have been well taken care of and the trail wide and the ups and downs gentle, so it has been a good state so far. We got to Rocky Run Shelter in the early morning and took a long break. This shelter was also built in 1941 but was in worse shape than Crampton. There was a notice that it was to be redone by May but it looks like they have not even started yet. It is boarded up and is unusable, but there are some good tents sites and has a great water source.There are many historic sites on this part of the trail. We hiked to Washington Monument State Park. It is a state park built around the first monument to George Washington in 1827. Again, I had been here with my son two years ago. This park also had rest rooms and a soda machine. We could get use to this. Wolf and Little Red were having lunch there so we visited with them for awhile. Today was Saturday, so there were a lot of people around and we were part of the attraction. People asked us questions and took our picture. It was good to meet people from around the country that were interested in our hike.We climbed up to the top of the monument and took many pictures. It was a fairly clear day and you could see the surrounding countryside for many miles.We only had three miles to go and continued to talk to people who were day hiking.Much of the forest today has been devasted by caterpillars. The trees have been completely stripped of their leaves for miles. I felt like I was hiking in March again. There was no canopy of leaves and the caterpillars were all over the trees and ground. It scares me to think of what these insects are doing to the forest and how do we stop them!We came out of the woods and were walking in a neighborhood. The trail goes right through peoples' yards. One family has a log to sign and we stopped to do that. The owners came out and gave us snacks. They said they don't put their snacks out on the weekend because there are too many people, but we were obviously thru hikers so they came out to say hi! We were walking over the I-70 Foot bridge when Chase, Calamity's husband, came walking toward us from the other side. Perfect timing. So we have a few more days of relaxing and slack packing until he leaves. Sometimes I feel guilty about this luxury, but I have spent many, many nights sleeping on the hard floors of shelters and this does improve my spirits and my body gets a break, so I will enjoy it while it lasts and it certainly nice for Calamity to spend some time with her husband.
Date: 2007-06-17
From: INTERSTATE 70 FOOTBRIDGE

To: RAVEN ROCK HOLLOW
Miles today: 12.7

From: Interstate 70 FootbridgeTo: Raven Rock HollowToday Miles: 12.7Total Miles: 1044.2Chase dropped Calamity and me off at 9:30 AM. A late start, but we were only doing 12 miles or so. The beginning of the day was wonderful. The trail was the widest trial we have been on so far. Calamity and I actually could walk side by side for awhile. Yesterday, we had met a couple out for a day hike who had commented on a part of the trail that was all boulders. Well we found that part today. It was about one mile long and was all huge boulders you had to walk across. So that slowed us down some.I saw my first rattlesnake in the wild today. We came upon a family looking at the snake. It was about 2 feet long and was not rattling at us. We all just carefully walked around it.We stopped at Annapolis Rock. It had some great views and also had 13 campsites. There is a cartaker on site. I think I would get bored with that job of just living in the same spot in a tent looking after a small camping area. In the morning, we saw a lot of people either out day or section hiking, but by the afternoon as we got further from I-70 we hardly saw anyone.We walked through a few fields today. We had not done that for awhile. We saw a herd of steers that had huge horns. That was also a first.At the end of the day, Calamity found a diabetics testing kit. She called the number on the back to report it and we also ran into a ridge runner so gave him the info. We hope whoever it is is alright as when Calamity looked at the info she concluded the person was all over the place with the last few readings and seemed to really need the information. She works in the medical field and knows a whole lot more than I do about this stuff!Overall it was a good day and nice to come back to a shower and a room without bugs. I am starting to get bites all over my body.
Date: 2007-06-18
From: RAVEN ROCK HOLLOW

To: OLD FORGE ROAD
Miles today: 14.0

Today Miles: 14.0Total Miles: 1058.2The morning started out almost straight up with lots of rocks. We met a group of about eight women hikers going down the hill. It was nice to see an all women group of all ages hiking together. I don't often see this out here. We then met Blue at the Devil's Racecourse Shelter. Blue had met Calamity way back in Gatlinburg but had not seen him since. We then hiked down a huge rock cliff. It took me forever to get down as I had to be so careful, and later again, over rocks where if it had not been blazed so well it would have been easy to get lost.We got to Pen-Mar Park and down the hill walked Chase, Calamity's husband. He had brought us and other hikers drinks. Also at Pen-Mar Park sitting around the picnic table was Thunder and Ishmel. I had never met them before but they also started on March 7. It is hard to believe there are people out here that I am just meeting who started the same day as I did!We had a nice long break and then hiked into Pennsylvania, our seventh state. There was no real marker except it was along the railroad track. Apparently, the Pen-Mar had a picnic here in 1878 that had 15,000 people at it! We also passed the Mason-Dixon Line so I guess we are in the North now! Having grown up on Long Island, New York, I feel at home here. This afternoon's hike was delightful. We stopped for a break at Deer Lick Shelters. There were two small shelters. I have not seen that before. It also had a few level, tent platforms, near the shelter. So another day and another state and we are heading north!
Date: 2007-06-19
From: OLD FORGE ROAD

To: QUARRY GAP SHELTER
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: few clouds

From: Old Forge RoadTo: Quarry Gap ShelterToday's Miles: 12.4Total Miles: 1070.6Chase dropped us at 7:45 and we went up and up and as always. It was hard the first day out with a full pack. We passed the first shelter in .2 miles and Blue, Ishmel, and Thunder were just leaving. Later Matterhorn passed us. This guy has legs that are a mile long and he just glides over the rocks. Also Blue Yonder, a women, passed us. We continue to meet new people every day, but they are all much faster and hike further than me, so you really do not get to know them very well. Today we had a true PUD (pointless up and down). We were hiking along and then had to climb straight up this rocky out crop, over these boulders where you had to climb hand over hand and then climb straight back down to the path we were on before. Why?We hiked through another State Park today, Caledonia. We could get used to this. We stopped along with Blue, Blue Yonder, Ishmel, Thunder and Matterhorn. We all had hotdogs, hamburgers, sodas, and the best milkshakes and sat around and rested from the heat. As we were leaving, Brew came hiking in. I had not seen him in weeks, and thought he was way ahead, but he had gotten ill and had to take some time off. He is trying to catch Larry and they are going to a concert so we also might catch up to them. The whole group came to the shelter but all went on except, Brew, Calamity, and me as there were storms predicted and I could not make the next shelter in time. The three of us sat around the shelter, in the rain, and talked about people we knew and how good it was to be with someone who you have a history with even if it is only the last few months.This is a great shelter. It is actually two small shelter connected with a deck with a roof, a sky light and a porch. It was built in 1935 but is in the best shape and has just been painted. It also has been landscaped with small white rocks, large rocks around the edges, a bench, and has hanging baskets of flowers on the porch. Jim or Innkeeper really cares about this place and we are glad we are here on this stormy night.
Date: 2007-06-21
From: IRONMASTERS MANSION HOSTEL

To: BOILING SPRINGS PA
Miles today: 19.4

To: Boiling Springs, PAToday Miles: 19.4Total Miles: 1107.3Today was another long day. We woke up cold this morning in the Hostel. The ladies we met yesterday were all up at 5:00 AM, so Calamity and I got up also and we were on the trail by 7:00 AM. Brew stayed behind to arrange his ride today to meet Larry. He and Larry will head out from Boiling Springs on Monday.We warmed up quickly once we started hiking and in a mile we came to the official half-way point. Even though ours (the Class of 2007) was 1.9 south of that point, the ATC keep it the same every year. The trail changes from year to year and it would be hard to keep moving it. This year the trail is 2174 miles. We lost a mile and that is okay with me!We were walking on rocks today more than not, so I feel we are coming into the infamous PA Rocks more and more each day. The bottoms of my feet hurt more because of them. We stopped for a break at James Fry Shelter, but just sat at the bottom as we did not want to walk the .2 miles up to it. It was a pretty none eventful day hiking wise. We did not see any other thru hikers and only a few southbound section hikers. It was hike naked day but again no one we met had decided to strip down. I can't even begin to imagine how uncomfortable that might be!After a long lunch break at a gap before Old Town Road (which marked another 100 miles), we had a long hard climb and then went up into the largest boulders I have had to climb over so far. At one point, I had to haul myself up with just my arms and then ended up sitting and could not get up. I had to take my pack off. It took Calamity and I over two hours to go three miles to Alec Kennedy Shelter because of those rocks. And then, of course, we went right back down to the trail on the same side of the mountain. We got to the Alec Kennedy Shelter around 4:00 PM and fixed dinner and then decided to walk on into Boiling Spring so we can do a 21 mile day tomorrow and get to Duncannon on Sat before the Post Office closes. Calamity has a mail drop coming.We walked to a campsite outside of Boiling Springs but it was right next to the railroad tracks and no one was there. We decided if we could get a bed and breakfast we would pay for a night but there was nothing available. But the wonderful Garmanhouse B&B allows hikers to set up their tents in the backyard. We walked around the corner of the house and there was Blue, Ishmel, and Thunder so we had a nice evening together and settled down for the night.
Date: 2007-06-23
From: COVE MOUNTAIN SHELTER

To: DUNCANNON PA
Miles today: 4.0
Weather: few clouds

From: Cove Mountain ShelterTo: Duncannon, PAToday's Miles: 4.0Total Miles: 1132.9Again, we were up early and out walking. I did not sleep very well last night and tossed and turned a lot. I think I need to start tenting, as I was hot and the bugs were bothering me, as well as the mice . I was glad to only have four miles today. We had a very steep down hill with a lot of rocks going into Duncannon, but we were there around 9:00 AM. The Doyle Hotel did not open until 11:00 so we went and picked up Calamity's mail drop and then went to Goodies (a local breakfast place) to eat. The three guys were already there, Thunder, Blue, and Ishmeal having the largest blueberry pancakes I have ever seen . Also Bucket and Water came in later. I have not seen Bucket since Erwin, but have been just behind her and reading her journal entries. I had not met her boyfriend, Water, so that was nice. It is amazing how close you feel to people when you are behind them and reading about their lives on the trail. But when you are in front you may know nothing about those behind you. The food was good, but it took awhile as they were very busy. We then walked across the street to the Doyle and checked in. This place was built around 1900 by Anheuser-Busch and is a thru-hiker legend. We settled in, took showers, and did laundry and then relaxed and got some well deserved rest. It was relaxing day and felt almost like a zero as we were here so early. There a lot of other thru hikers here, some I have met and many who I have not. Calamity met Jester, a former thru who gave her lots of good information on the up coming days.We had dinner at The Pub, also a good place to eat, resupplied at a local store (we have enough dinners from the package Chase sent Calamity), wrote in our journals, and went to bed. I liked this town as everyone in it is very friendly to the hikers. The locals stop you on the street to ask you how your hike is going and where you from. This town gets my vote for "friendliest hiker town" on the trail so far.