morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-06-04
From: Hightop Mountain Summit

To: Elkton, VA / Harrisonburg, VA
Miles today: 2.7
Weather: broken clouds

Jun 4, 2016 - Elkton, VA was only 2.7 miles away and I had forwarded the package containing my new Jacksrbetter quilt to the post office there. Plus, Survivor's Mom was driving down to meet him for the afternoon and I was invited. I caught a hitch near the entrance to the park from a religious guy named Johnny. I've got nothing against the religious folk down here, but sometimes it's hard to talk to them when every single sentence is punctuated by references to the good Lord. Still, Johnny was nice enough and was obviously giving me a ride into town. Of course, when I made it to the post office, the package hadn't arrived yet. I had to forward it yet again to Harpers Ferry where maybe I would have more luck. I had several hours to kill before Survivor, Steel and Survivor's Mom were supposed to arrive. This is a dangerous situation when I am in a town surrounded by food joints. I started with McDonalds: a coffee, 3 hot cakes, 1 hash brown, 1 sausage biscuit, and 1 sausage burrito. Still not satisfied, I walked to Dairy Queen: 1 large peanut butter cookie dough blizzard and a basket of 6 chicken fingers, fries, and Texas toast. Honestly, I still wasn't full, but it wouldn't have been right to continue. Shawna arrived around 2 pm at the Dairy Queen to pick the 3 of us up and take us to a hotel room she so graciously bought us. Steel was literally covered in poison ivy and needed the break. Back at the hotel, I met Shawna's boyfriend, Matt, and Survivor's two little sisters, Sophia and Emily. Sophia was especially adorable - she drew me a picture of my face that I put in my pack so that I could keep it. The afternoon was spent relaxing, showering, doing laundry and other chores associated with a nero. Dinner was to be at Golden Corral. I had never been to a Golden Corral, but I was pretty stunned when I walked in. Literally every single type of American comfort food lined the front of the building in one of the more impressive buffets I've ever seen. It was nearly too much to handle - I only headed back to the table after I realized food was actually falling off my plate because there was so much on it. Three plates later, I had the usual stomach pains that follow an enormous buffet, but no regrets whatsoever. Following dinner, Matt drove us to resupply at Wal-Mart. Since I still had food from when my Mom drove down a week ago, I only bought some carrots, apples and wine for the rest of the night. Watch out - Survivor came away with a smart phone. Steel, Survivor, and I watched The Martian, crushed the wine and had an excellent night sleep. Actually, Steel did not have a great night - her poison ivy nearly drove her crazy. Fortunately, I've never had poison ivy and can't really imagine what she was going through, but watching someone normally so calm and happy become so frustrated and uncomfortable really put things into perspective.
Date: 2016-06-05
From: Elkton, VA / Harrisonburg, VA

To: Rock Spring Hut
Miles today: 21.5
Weather: light rain

Jun 5, 2016 - The hotel breakfast actually wasn't too bad - hard boiled eggs, muffins, English muffins, and coffee. We packed up pretty quickly and had Shawna and Matt drive us back to Swift Run Gap so we could resume hiking. I had to average 20 miles a day for 6 straight days in order to reach Harpers Ferry on Friday, June 10. Ben 'Studley' Dudley would be meeting me there. While I was sheltered from the storms last night, I had no such shelter to look forward to this evening. The forecast for this afternoon and into tonight were high winds, thunderstorms, and possible hail. I started booking it as soon as I started hiking around 10 am with the intention of hiking 21.5 miles in before the storms hits. About 9 miles in, I stopped in at the Lewis Mountain Campground for a snack and to meet up with Princess Peach. We had been separated three nights back during the thunderstorm because Scoober had cracked his paw. He had to take it slow until Scoober healed up a bit. Peach and I continued hauling ass and reached the Rock Spring Hut at around 5 pm, literally just as the rain started coming down. However, despite the harsh forecast, it drizzled for about 20 minutes and then the sun came back out. It ended up being a beautiful evening and we were all afforded a perfect view of the sunset. I actually slept in the shelter for only the fourth time all trip due to the supposedly impending weather. Joining me was Verge, Legs, Peach, Scoober, Happy Feet, Napster, Pharmacist, and Cheeseweasal. Steel and Survivor showed up after the shelter had already been filled. Mice regularly roam the shelters at night - you can always hear them scurrying and scratching as they search for food. Apparently, Pharmacist carries mouse traps with him to kill mice at the shelters. Before tonight, he had slayed 19 mice, with 6 being the most in any given night. However, everyone knew tonight might be the night he set a new record as his first two traps coated in peanut butter each killed 2 mice at the same time! After about 2 hours of continually resetting the traps, Pharmacist had caught no less than 15 mice, his new record! It was a very entertaining show and it was my job to put any mice the traps didn't kill out of their misery.
Date: 2016-06-06
From: Rock Spring Hut

To: Campsite near spring 
Miles today: 17.6

Jun 6, 2016 - Scoober woke me up just before 6. I guess he was uncomfortable so he just hip checked my leg out of the way and laid down on my sleeping pad. I think he likes me, but I'm definitely not sure because every time I pet him, he growls AND wags his tail. It's almost like he's purring. In order to hold to the plan of arriving in Harpers Ferry by Friday, we were looking at another big day to maintain our 20 mile per day average. The only problem was Scoober - he was obviously exhausted since he had gained weight during the first half of the trail and didn't have his hiking legs yet. The fat was still very obviously jiggling on his hind legs as he trotted along. Peach, Scoober and I were walking from the shelter back to the trail when we were stopped by a large black bear. The bear didn't even seem to notice us as he moseyed across the trail. Shortly after we resumed hiking, we were forced to stop into the Skyland Resort and Restaurant when we smelled the food they were cooking as it wafted onto the trail. And it turns out, we hit the jackpot - breakfast buffet! The only problem with a buffet is hiking immediately afterward with a full stomach, which is, of course, exactly what we did. We ended up stopping 17.6 miles into our hike at a stealth spot next to a spring. Survivor rolled in to camp a little later with the news that Steel actually got off trail and went to the hospital because her poison ivy was so bad. She planned on slack packing the next day to catch back up to us. As it continues to get hotter out, the bugs are becoming pretty unbearable. We actually all sat in our tents and chatted with each other after dinner since fires are not allowed in Shenandoah.
Date: 2016-06-07
From: Campsite near spring 

To: Tom Floyd Shelter
Miles today: 21.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Jun 7, 2016 - Today would be our last day in Shenandoah National Park. The bears have definitely been my favorite part of the park so far - I have seen 13 already including two cubs the size of cats, which were obviously adorable. Usually, they will just sit there and stare at me with their ears up as I walk past. My favorite interaction was this morning when Survivor, Scoober, Peach, and myself caught up to an older gentleman named Grey Ghost. He was stopped on the trail staring down a mama bear just a couple yards off the east side of the trail. Grey Ghost informed us that two cubs had already run down the hill on the west side of the trail so that continuing would place us between mama and her cubs. Scoober started to bark a bit, which seemed to provoke the bear a bit. Mama bear mounted a log and hit the log with his paw - you could tell she was thinking about attacking, but 5 against 1 aren't good odds even for a bear. The bear ultimately turned away and we proceeded to hike north. Another bear encounter I heard about occurred to another thru hiker named Jelly and his dog Peanut Butter. The bear had charged from behind unprovoked and tried attacking the dog. PB is pretty quick, though, and successfully dodged the attack. Jelly stepped in and started yelling and clacking his trekking poles together until the bear ran away. Scary stuff. Anyway, we took advantage of the Elkwallow Wayside before we left the national park by purchasing breakfast sandwiches. We hiked 21.3 miles to the Tom Floyd Shelter just outside the northern boundary of the national park. A sign on trail identified the shelter as a 'wayside' so we got pretty excited until we realized there were definitely no double bacon cheeseburgers there. Also, the water source was about a half mile down a steep hill, which is always pretty demoralizing. Tomorrow, Survivor and I will be attempting the 24 challenge. This challenge required that you drink 24 beers and hike 24 miles within a 24 hour time period.
Date: 2016-06-08
From: Tom Floyd Shelter

To: Trail west to Myron Glaser Cabin
Miles today: 25.2
Weather: few clouds

Jun 8, 2016 - Today, I completed the 24 challenge! It was mostly fun, but also very not fun, especially towards the end. Peach, Survivor, Scoober and I left the shelter at 7:15 am - the official start of the challenge. Survivor and I would be attempting the challenge while Peach planned to take a short day to allow Scoober to rest. Just a reminder, the challenge is to consume 24 beers and hike 24 miles within a 24 hour time period. So, there are literally a hundred different ways to complete the challenge. We hiked a quick 3 miles to the road crossing for Front Royal, VA. Bill gave us all a ride to the Food Lion where we could acquire beers for the challenge. I chose a 24 pack of Yuengling while Survivor went with PBR. I also had to run to the post office quickly to pick up a package from my Mom containing a knee brace and some food to get me through a few days. The four of us then grabbed slurpee cups from 7-Eleven and commenced drinking right there on the sidewalk. Our strategy was to pound about 6-8 beers right away and then resume hiking. This would reduce the weight we would have to carry (24 beers weighs around 19 pounds). Then, we would focus on drinking around 1 beer per hour while hiking. Finally, we would finish off the remaining beers once the 24 miles was completed. We also picked a day with forgiving terrain and abundant water sources since it would be difficult to stay hydrated. All was going according to plan until we reached the shelter at 14 miles. Survivor bailed and decided to stay there with Peach and Scoober. I was looking at 10 lonely, difficult miles with around 10 beers left. I reached the stream that marked 24 miles at 9:20 pm. All of my beers were gone - I did it! However, now it was dark and I needed to find a stealth campsite. I stumbled on in the dark by the light of my headlamp for nearly another mile before I decided to just camp in the middle of a side trail I came across. The side trail led to some locked cabin in the woods, but after about a quarter mile, I gave up and settled for the dirt trail. Screw night hiking, by the way. A waxing crescent moon obviously provided no help and 24 beers may have made the experience a bit worse than usual, but it was not fun at all. I was exhausted and fell asleep as soon as I had set up my tent. I didn't even eat dinner. While the challenge was certainly difficult, I never doubted I would finish. However, I definitely do not want to do it again. The half gallon challenge at Pine Grove Furnace State Park is next...
Date: 2016-06-09
From: Trail west to Myron Glaser Cabin

To: Campsite near north end of Roller Coaster 
Miles today: 15.1

Jun 9, 2016 - I knew as soon as I opened my eyes that today was going to be an extremely long day. Hungover was an understatement. After I got my bearings and confirmed I could stand, I prepared a greasy breakfast of pork roll and cheese, which definitely helped a little. I looked around me while I ate and realized the cabin was about 30 yards farther along the trail and I hadn't noticed it in the dark. My woes continued as I started hiking because today I was to tackle the 'Roller Coaster', which is 13.5 miles of straight up and then straight down on repeat. Luckily, it was a beautiful breezy day and I was in the shade for most of it. I quickly sweat out the alcohol from the previous day, but seemingly could not stay hydrated and my head continued to pound. I saw two bears during my hike today. It's pretty funny to see a powerful, 400 pound killing machine run away from me when he hears me approaching on the trail. If they don't run, most of the time they just stare at you with their ears up looking like a cuddly teddy bear. With about 3.5 miles left in the roller coaster, I met two older section hikers named Old Hoosier and Hopalong. They informed me there was a restaurant called the Horseshoe Curve 0.3 miles west along the road we had just crossed. I asked if I could join them and they seemed happy to have some company. While I chatted with them over lunch, they revealed that they originally had a third companion named Bernie. During their hike through Shenandoah, he felt ill and they realized that his aorta artery split and he was bleeding out from the inside. He was rushed to the hospital via helicopter - he had requested a priest to perform last rites and called his family because he genuinely thought he was going to die. After two weeks in the hospital, he is almost fully recovered, but I can't imagine how scary that must have been on the trail. They had been almost 3 miles from the nearest wayside when Bernie started showing symptoms. If it had happened even 1-2 miles farther away, he'd probably be dead. There's a new blazing term that I heard recently: Platinum Blazing. Basically, this refers to someone paying others to slack pack them along most of the trail. The reason this came up was because Beast, who I have mentioned in the past, has been slack packing very often.Anyway, I finally finished the roller coaster, passing 1,000 miles and finishing Virginia in the process. Even though I struggled for most of the 15.1 miles today, it was extremely satisfying to realize that I've hiked such a large distance. It's also nice to have the 550 mile state of Virginia out of the way.
Date: 2016-06-10
From: Campsite near north end of Roller Coaster 

To: Harpers Ferry, WV (188 High Street)
Miles today: 16.6
Weather: clear sky

Jun 10, 2016 - Steel and Survivor had arrived at my campsite during the night and were up early with me around 6 am. I'm pretty shocked no other hikers stopped at the campsite - it was beautiful, just off the trail and had a very clean and accessible spring. Steel made me a cup of coffee which I was sorely missing yesterday morning. It was instant, but I cannot describe to you how glorious it tasted. Standards don't exist out here. I hobbled out of camp just after 7 and decided I needed some music to get me going. A Day to Remember and, of course, New Radicals got my legs pumping and before I knew it, I was flying. The goal for the day was 16.5 easy miles into the quaint town of Harpers Ferry, WV. I didn't stop once. With about 9.5 miles left, I thought about stopping at the shelter to grab some water, but then I found a stash of sodas and bananas left by the side of the trail. I grabbed a soda and a banana and kept trucking. At 12:15 pm, I finally reached the side trail that led to the ATC (Appalachian Trail Conservancy) headquarters in Harpers Ferry, WV. Thru hikers traditionally stop outside the headquarters and get their picture taken next to the sign. The picture is then stored in the ATC's records - I was hiker #564 passing through this unofficial halfway point. However, before I stopped at the ATC, I went straight to the pizzeria down the street (Mena's Pizzeria) and ordered a large pepperoni pizza. While I waited for that, I picked up my package from the post office. Mom really outdid herself this time with venison jerky, Polish sausage, peanut butter cups, pork roll, and more. When I got back to the pizzeria, the waitress verified that I did, in fact, want a 'large' pizza. I assured her I was very hungry and then crushed the entire pie. She was visibly impressed, shocked, or disgusted. Maybe all three. I don't know and I don't care. It was delicious. Tim, the pizza count is up to 87. Back at the ATC, I waited for the rest of my trail family (see the picture). Steel's uncle, Cliff, was on his way into town and had reserved a three bedroom apartment for the four of us. This place was ridiculous - 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, a deck overlooking the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, and a genuine musket and bayonet that Peach used to great effect on the balcony to the amusement of restaurant patrons below.Thankfully, Cliff arrived after we had all showered and completed laundry because we stunk. It had been 6 days since I showered and there have been no bodies of water to jump into. He treated us to breakfast foods from the grocery store for tomorrow morning's feast and then we headed to dinner at the Potomac Grill downstairs. Fish n chips hit the spot. Wine and sitcoms polished off a really nice afternoon. With two zeros and a visit from Ben Dudley to look forward to, this weekend was shaping up pretty nicely.
Date: 2016-06-11
From: Harpers Ferry, WV (188 High Street)

To: Harpers Ferry, WV (188 High Street)
Miles today: 0.0

Jun 11, 2016 - After an incredible night sleep on the couch downstairs, the sunrise cast its rays through the window and woke me up. The breakfast feast was indeed a feast. Steel and I cooked up eggs, potatoes, bagels, bacon, Taylor ham, orange juice with LOTS of pulp and avocados. Solid.Ben showed up around noon and added some Duck Donuts to the smorgasboard. I ate 7, which I later regretted even though they were delicious. After catching up over a few beers, we caught lunch at Coach House Grill just below and down the street from our ritzy apartment. Lauren, Ben's friend from work joined us for some Grown Up Grilled Cheese sandwiches. Ben graciously drove me to Wal-Mart to get a few supplies and beer for shenanigans later that night (Cliff was totally on board). My mustache is rapidly growing wild and needs to be tamed before somebody gets hurt. I picked up some Old Spice 'stache wax to help me in this monumental task. The beard is filling in nicely and needs no further direction. Ice cream from the Coffee Mill followed Wal-Mart and we ate as we walked around the town a bit. Harpers Ferry, WV sits on a small hill overlooking the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers. The two rivers join at the base of the hill and become the Potomac. Across the Shenandoah River is Virginia and across the Potomac River is Maryland - it's a beautiful and significant view as the town was a strategic holding during the Civil War. Naturally, I went swimming in the river, which was incredibly refreshing on the sunny, humid, 90+ degree day. The current was surprisingly strong so I had to anchor myself against a rock to prevent drifting. The rest of the afternoon was spent doing nothing as a good zero demands. We ordered pizza for dinner and then cleared a spot in the apartment for shenanigans - Tim, the pizza count is at 95 slices. I did work this weekend.For shenanigans, I had the pleasure of teaching everyone how to play relay race, the greatest drinking game ever played. Relay race helped prep is for a party down the street at Tumbleweed's house. At the party (this place was true hiker trash - 20+ packs littered the porch. The excess of food and beer at this place was alarming and the house was a mess.) we met a few new people: Duckbat, Brief Thief, Admiral, Happy Feet, Shotgun, Pockets, Odie (the hiker yearbook guy), Frodo (yes, he was carrying a ring and yes, he is going to "cast it into the fires of Katahdin from whence it came"), and Tank. Peach and I stayed long enough to crush two teams in beer pong before we headed back around midnight.
Date: 2016-06-12
From: Harpers Ferry, WV (188 High Street)

To: Harpers Ferry, WV (188 High Street)
Miles today: 0.0

Jun 12, 2016 - This morning was a repeat of yesterday's breakfast feast minus the Taylor ham (happy, Tim? You have to understand that as a New Jersey resident I am an ambassador for pork roll to the rest of the unfortunate country that is deprived of such goodness. It is, in fact, pork roll, so that is what I call it out here. Of course I call it Taylor ham when I order it at home.).When I say the rest of the day was spent doing absolutely nothing, I mean it. I sat in the air conditioning and watched three movies and eventually game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals. While I missed most of the playoffs, the hockey gods were merciful enough to present the Stanley Cup on a day when I was in town and in front of the television. I only left the apartment to obtain ice cream (this happened several times during the day - the half gallon challenge was later this week and I wanted to be prepared) and grab a few beers with Steel and Cliff down the street. Peach made some pulled pork in the crock pot so we made sandwiches complete with coleslaw, macaroni salad, cheese, and barbecue sauce. In the crock pot, Peach just wrapped the pork in foil and turned it once throughout the day. I'll have to remember that because it just doesn't get any easier. After an extremely restful weekend, I was definitely ready to get back on trail.
Date: 2016-06-14
From: Pine Knob Shelter

To: Falls Creek Campsite
Miles today: 18.6
Weather: few clouds

Jun 14, 2016 - Steel, Survivor, Peach, Scoober and myself got moving early again this morning so we could make coffee and share breakfast together at the Annapolis Rocks overlook about 1.5 miles north of the Pine Knob Shelter. The view on this gorgeous, clear and cool day was worth it and definitely made the coffee taste a little better.Peach, Scoober and I made quick work of the remaining miles and arrived at Pen Mar County Park. Legs had sent me a text saying her Mom, Goldberry, was doing Trail Magic there. (By the way, I realized recently that Legs has a Trail Journals blog also: trailjournals.com/loon if you'd like to check it out. Verge and Legs are a hell of a lot of fun and I really hope we stay in the same bubble for many more miles. Their parents, Goldberry and Bombadil were also hiking the trail this year. They had just passed mile 1200 when Goldberry needed to leave the trail to return to her job as a cardiac nurse. However, she was visiting Verge and Legs this week before she made her way back to Massachusetts. Oh and [Tom] Bombadil and Goldberry are hands down my favorite trail names out here - if you don't understand the reference, you're doing it wrong. Also, she actually referenced a 'babble fish' in normal conversation. Amazing. Again, if you don't get the reference, you're missing out.)Anyway, Goldberry was offering up chips, fresh strawberries, sweet potatoes, and sodas while she slack packed Legs and Verge. Another woman, Vicki 'The Real Deal' had found Legs' blog and also showed up to compound the Trail Magic we were receiving. She brought fresh apple pie and fudge, which was out of this world. Goldberry also gave a few of us a ride to Wal-Mart to grab garlic bread and s'mores for the campfire later that night. Another mile along the trail and we crossed the Mason-Dixon Line into Pennsylvania (6 states down!) which was pretty cool considering how much history is intertwined with this boundary. All in all, we hiked 18.6 miles to the Falls Creek campsite where, of course, I swam in the river (more like assuming the push up position and dunking myself under) and got a nice campfire going. We played some Coup (a card game Ben left with me) and ate to our heart's content.