morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-09-13
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

After much contemplation and planning, I have decided to change the direction of my hike from north to south. So now I will start in Harper's Ferry in March, as originally planned and hike south to Springer Mountain. I hope to meet up with my sister, Tracy McG sometime in July and begin hiking south again from Katahdin. Tracy McG hiked most of the trail this year, with only a little over 300 miles left to complete. My hero. I am hoping my other sister, Breezy might want to hike some of the southern sections of the trail with me. She has completed 1500 miles. My other hero. Maybe my youngest sister, Blondie, will hike some of the trail with me too. She has a full-time and a part-time job, so not too much time for hiking, but she is also a person to be admired for all that she accomplishes. She would love to hike more, and one day she will have the time to do it. I have a fourth sister who lives too far from us to see often, but I know she would join in too if she could. In addition to my sisters, I have two brothers. You might see them on the trail some day too. I have three grown children, as well as a son-in-law and daughter-in-law, all of whom make me proud. Only one is interested in hiking, my youngest. She has been through all of the training with me so far, and is very encouraging. My husband too, although he has no interest in hiking, has been supportive. I will be leaving him with a big burden in taking care of his elderly father, so I really appreciate his willingness to let me go.So there you have my new direction and all of my family information. Hopefully I will meet the northbound hikers twice, once in the south and one in the north.Cassidy.
Date: 2013-09-23
To: Hiking at High Tor
Miles today: 0.0

Last weekend, Sheryl and I went on a nice hike in New York State. After driving back and forth for a while, looking for the trail we parked in a tiny pull-off and started walking. The trail was part of the Long Path, which goes from the George Washington Bridge to Albany, NY. We went up a rock scramble and a steep climb to the top of High Tor. From there we had a beautiful view of NYC in the distance on one side, and the Hudson River and the little town of Haverstraw on the other side. We continued down the mountain and walked along an old fire road for a couple of miles. We were looking for Little Tor, but the side trail to it was not marked and we missed it. Instead we climbed another side trail and had lunch at a power line overlook. It was very scenic, again looking over Haverstraw and the Hudson River. Autumn is just beginning and leaves had a golden glow to them. After lunch we retraced our steps back to the car. This week I went with a friend to drop his son at a summer camp in Vermont, just past Rutland. It was a long day of driving, over 500 miles out and back.   We took the more scenic route home and passed by many of the mountains I will be climbing on the Appalachian Trail. They look much higher and more rugged than the mountains in NJ, NY and PA, which is where I do most of my hiking. We stopped to visit his sister, who lives on the NY/CT border and who generously offered a place to stay when I reach that area. I have mentioned my oldest sister, Tracy McG before. She hiked over 1800 miles of the AT this year (2013).   She is not tired of hiking yet and wants to hike the entire trail with me in 2014.   She was just great at giving tips and pointers about the trail and what to carry or leave behind. She also gives lots of other good tips, such as laying down on your groundcloth to see if the ground is comfortable and rock-free before setting up your tent. It will be so much fun to have her as a hiking companion. Her husband, Foodwalker, will follow along as our own personal trail angel. He also helps out anyone he meets along the way. What a great brother-in-law.   I am looking forward to this hiking adventure.
Date: 2013-10-30
To: Fall Hiking
Miles today: 0.0

Well, here it is the end is October. Training is going well. I've been hiking most Saturdays, sometimes on the AT and sometimes on other trails. NJ has some beautiful areas, especially in the western side of the state. It is a long drive to get to the trails, usually about an hour or a little more. (In NJ we measure driving distance by time rather than miles.) I have my pack ready to go. It is a little heavier than I would like with the winter gear. I am sure I will go through it many times between now and March. My sister, Tracy McG, has been giving me lots of helpful tips such as how to keep your water filter from freezing by keeping it in a money belt under your clothes while you hike and in your sleeping bag at night.I haven't tried my new equipment yet but hope to give them a try soon.Happy trick or treating.Cassidy
Date: 2014-01-10
To: Finalizing Gear
Miles today: 0.0

Happy New Year! I hope this will be an especially happy year for all of the 2014 hikers.I've been very busy since the last time I've been on trailjournals. I've updated some of my gear. My daughter and I went to one of the REI garage sales and picked up some nice things. I snagged a Granite Gear backpack. It's lighter than my previous pack and seems to fit well. I also picked up a new pair of Black Diamond trekking poles and a Marmot rain jacket. I've gotten some nice clothing deals at a local thrift shop. I've spent hours playing with my pack and gear, putting things in, taking things out. Right now my base pack weight is at 23 pounds.I haven't done quite as well at training. I managed to injure my toes on one of my training hikes and had to stay off my feet until they healed. Now I am back to walking. The weather hasn't been very cooperative for hiking on the weekends, but I have done a lot of walking around locally. Hopefully I will be able to get at least a few hikes in before starting out on March 10. I wear the pack around the house a lot. It's kind of comical, especially since I tend to be barefoot in the house, but I need to build the muscles to carry it. I did check out my sleeping system in the backyard. My quilt seems warm enough for the mid-20's. I have decided to take along my lightweight summer sleeping bag too, just in case it gets very cold again. The polar vortex made me acutely aware of the danger of being unprepared. I think the extra weight it justified, and it should only be needed a few weeks. My sister, and hiking partner, has been busy tweaking her gear too. She is very creative with making a lot of her things or modifying things to suit her needs.   I can't wait to see her again. I'm very excited and a little nervous about this hike. It's less than 60 days away now. I am sure it will be here in a flash. It seems like only a few weeks ago that the countdown was at 240 days.Thanks to everyone who has looked at or signed my guestbook. Also thanks to my family, my co-workers, and friends. I know that leaving for six months has a big impact on many lives and I appreciate all of the cooperation and, and especially, the support.Hope to see all my fellow hikers out there. Happy hiking!
Date: 2014-03-07
To: Almost Time to Go
Miles today: 0.0

Thank you to everyone who has read my journal, signed my guest book and especially to everyone who is planning to follow my hike. I can't even begin to describe how exciting it is to be so close to the start of this hike. I have spent days and days packing and unpacking and repacking. I've been a little obsessive about what I will be taking and leaving behind. I have my pack base weight down to about 26 pounds. The gear weight will go down a little when the weather warms up. Tracy McG and I are very lucky to have our own personal trail support, Tracy's husband, Foodwalker. He will be bringing our food supply and the few extra things he can fit and will resupply us along the way. I have been watching the weather forecasts for the start of the hike and it seems we will have good weather for a least a day or two. I finished work last Friday. It seemed so strange to say goodbye to the people I have worked with for so long. I left a map of the trail hanging by my desk so they can keep track of where I am. It's been odd to be off this week, but I needed the time to do little chores, banking, things like that. And of course, pack and unpack and repack. I went through my wallet and cleaned out old credit cards and other miscellaneous junk. I cut up the old cards, and by accident I cut up my current debit card too. Ooops. I called the bank and they will send a new one, but I doubt it will get here before I leave. (shaking my head at being so dumb.) Luckily, I have another card to use.I had a nice dinner with some of the ladies from church. It was very nice of them to take me, and they will be following me. I took my son and his wife, and my younger daughter and her boyfriend to lunch, and I had dinner last week with my oldest daughter and her husband. I will see everyone one more time before I go. Today I went to lunch with my husband and his work colleagues. Bruce will be handling a lot of extra responsibilities while I am gone, and so will my daughter, Sheryl. I really appreciate their willingness to take on the extra responsibilities. We live with and care for my 95 year old father-in-law. He didn't really understand what this hike was about or why it would take so long, so I gave him a copy of the trail map, and now he will be following along. Sheryl will keep him informed of my progress and he's been studying the map so that he will know where I am. He and his wife did a lot of traveling in their day, so looking at the map has been bringing back many memories of past trips.On Sunday we will head out to Harper's Ferry. Jeff, Jenna and Sheryl will drive me out and spend the night. And then Tracy McG and I will take the first of many steps, following those white blazes!
Date: 2014-03-09
To: Harper's Ferry
Miles today: 0.0

My last evening at home before the big hike was spent listening to a great live jazz show at the Roadhouse Cafe which my husband directs once a month at our church.Today was both sad and fun. Jeff and Jenna picked up Sheryl and me at our house. We said goodbye to Bruce and Henry. That was the sad part. Then we drove to Harper's Ferry and met Foodwalker and Tracy McG at our motel. We had a good conversation. Afterwards we went to find something to eat. We are used to NJ where you can always find a 24 hour diner so we were a little challenged here in WV. We did eventually find food and brought it back to eat. After lots of chatter and laughing I unpacked my pack to show Jenna and Jeff my things. That's when I realized I couldn't find my headlamp. After much searching and worry, I found it packed in a pocket right where I had put it so it wouldn't get lost!Now we are ready for sleep so we can get up bright-eyed and ready for our start in the morning. Good night all.
Date: 2014-03-10
From: Harper's Ferry

To: David Lesser Memorial Shelter
Miles today: 9.3
Weather: broken clouds

Tracy McG and I are on our way to Georgia! It was an exciting day. We had breakfast at the motel and then Jeff, Jenna, Sheryl and Foodwalker brought us to the trail. Foodwalker walked with us to Jefferson Rock and said goodbye.Within 15 minutes I slipped on a wet rock and went sliding down towards the river. Luckily a fallen tree arrested my slide and I got back to the trail with only scratches. After that the trip was great. The Shenandoah River was beautiful.We arrived at the shelter about 6:00, set up and made dinner. We meet a hiker doing the same route at lunchtime and he was here at the shelter too. His name is Jake and he is from Illinois.Now we are making breakfast and packing up camp for another hike. Looks like it will be a beautiful day.
Date: 2014-03-11
From: David Lesser Memorial Shelter

To: Bears Den Hostel
Miles today: 11.2

Today started out with a gentle walk through the woods. It was warm and sunny. We saw a woodpecker and lots of early signs of spring, trees budding and insects. The second half of the day was much harder as we entered the Roller Coaster, a section of 13 miles of steep ups and downs. We went over three mountains and met Foodwalker at a parking lot. We were exhausted and looked for any place we could camp but there was nowhere , so we did a quick food resupply and headed up the next mountain. We stopped at Bears Den Hostel just before dark and set up camp in a clearing. We ate supper, and off to bed. This morning we will finish the Roller Coaster. Four more mountains to go. I am tired before I even start. It sure is beautiful though.
Date: 2014-03-12
From: Bears Den Hostel

To: Rod Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: light rain

Well, the 4 mountains were actually eight. It was continuously up a steep mountain, cross a stream, and down a steep mountain. One of the streams was very wide and full with snow melt. We spent some time there trying to find a way across. Tracy has crossed these streams before but I was very nervous about it. Eventually we decided to take off our shoes and wade across. We stumbled into the shelter about 7:00. We found Jake there already in his sleeping bag. It was already cold and had been raining. We set up in the shelter with Tracy's tent in the front and my sleeping bag behind it to block the wind. We were both warm through the night but I think Jake was freezing. It was hard to pack up in the morning because our fingers would go numb in only a minute or so without gloves, but we managed and took off walking again.
Date: 2014-03-13
From: Rod Hollow Shelter

To: Dick's Dome Shelter
Miles today: 8.4

Today was cold and windy. The wind just just howled all day. We walked in many layers of clothing, gloves and hats. Everywhere were downed branches and trees. In some places there was no way through them and we wound up climbing the embankment next to the trail to go around them. This also meant climbing through thick brambles which caught our feet and left us with scratches. This part of the trail was also decimated from previous storms this winter.We made today a shorter day and stopped at a shelter about 4. We went to bed early slept about 12 hours. Another freezing morning. I did see a raccoon fishing in the frozen stream. It never saw me at all.
Date: 2014-03-14
From: Dick's Dome Shelter

To: US 522
Miles today: 15.2

The morning we woke up at Dick's Dome Shelter was very cold. It is so hard to get moving when you are that cold. Everything you touch is freezing. Your fingers go numb in seconds. Closing zip lock bags and latches become impossible. Getting clothes changed becomes a matter of willpower. On the other hand, the only way to get warm again is to get walking, so you do what you have to do. Whiskey Hollow Creek in front of the shelter was just beautiful. It was running high from snowmelt and was full of mossy green rocks. Icicles had formed in the creek but they were going up instead of down because the splashing water was freezing. We warmed up quickly once we started walking. Before long we came upon a large hiking club. They seemed very impressed with the two women out backpacking alone and had many questions. We hiked with them on and off for about five miles, which was very pleasant. They were a group from Woodstock,VA. We finally said goodbye at their last rest break and continued on. We had planned to go to the Jim and Molly Denton Shelter but decided to push on to US 522. Foodwalker made a reservation for us at the Quality Inn in Front Royal. We had a great sleep and a chance to shower and resupply.
Date: 2014-03-15
From: US 522

To: Stealth Camp after Jenkins Gap
Miles today: 9.1

Foodwalker brought us back to the trail after our night in the hotel. A little before noon we started back out, this time with slack packs (the trail term for day packs.) It was a nice day and we moved along quickly. We stopped at the Tom Floyd wayside for lunch of leftover pizza. I took off my shoes and socks to air out my feet. I seem to have a blister on every toe. We hiked on to Jenkins Gap, where Foodwalker gave us our packs. We hiked up for a while until we found a place to camp. We set up our tents facing the west and watched the sun go down.
Date: 2014-03-16
From: Stealth Camp after Jenkins Gap

To: Hogback Overlook
Miles today: 7.2

It was another cold morning. We set out about 8:30. We passed a group of Boy Scouts going in the other direction. They had spent the night at Gravel Springs Hut. The day seemed to be getting colder as we walked. We were concerned about the forecast of snow for later in the day. We knew that Skyline Drive would be closed if it snowed and that Foodwalker wouldn't be able to pick us up. We were also worried about having enough water for the night. All of the springs listed in the guide were off the trail. Tracy spotted a tiny little spring on the trail and we stopped to filter water. When we stopped for lunch Tracy was able to get an internet connection and checked the weather forecast. As soon as we saw the winter storm warning, Tracy texted Foodwalker to see if he could pick us up. We continued on over Little Hogback Mountain and Hogback Mountain, and met Foodwalker. We drove to Luray and checked into a hotel to wait out the storm.
Date: 2014-03-17
From: Luray, VA

To: Luray, VA
Miles today: 0.0

Lazy day today. Foodwalker and I went to do some food shopping. I brought lots of nutritious food which I can't seem to eat, so I'm trying out some different types of foods which might be easier to get down. Mostly junk food. We have some little repairs to make. I made a new nosepiece for my sunglasses with duct tape and fixed my broken hairbrush with duct tape too. Lots of eating and tv watching. I had a chance to catch up on my trail journal. Socks need washing.   The mountains look beautiful. Can't wait to get back out.
Date: 2014-03-18
From: Luray, VA

To: Calf Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: light rain

We left Waynesboro in the morning and headed to Rockfish Gap to begin walking north. Foodwalker said goodbye and off we went. The snow was quite deep and beautiful. We were amazed at all of the ice crystals covering everything. The walk uphill in the deep snow was incredibly difficult and dangerous. We followed a single set of footprints through the snow. It was difficult to even see the blazes because the snow and ice were covering everything. We saw a flock of turkeys on Skyline Drive. Their footprints look just like the AT symbol, an arrow. We slid a lot and fell several times. Luckily snow is soft and cushioned the falls. We finally came to the trail to the shelter and even that was difficult and hazardous. When we got to the shelter, we were surprised to find Erin and Tristan, a young couple from Cleveland. They were just as surprised to see us. It was very nice to know that we weren't the only people out and we enjoyed their company. Tracy named Tristan "Sockless" because he was wearing his boots without socks. We all decided to use Skyline Drive the next day instead of the trail . We were tired and went to bed as soon as we finished dinner. In the morning, Sockless went to the spring without his socks and got water for all of us. Thank you Sockless!
Date: 2014-03-19
From: Calf Mountain Shelter

To: Black Rock Hut
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Today we chose to use Skyline Drive today after making our way down from Calf Mountain Hut . It was snow covered several inches deep in places. In other places the snow had melted from the road. We could see the footprints of the north bounder who was still on the trail. Walking on the road is in some ways more difficult than the trail and much less interesting. We didn't see anyone all day. There were no cars either since the road was closed. We got back on the trail to get to Black Rock Hut and got there about 4. The spring was down a hill but there was a steady stream of snowmelt from the roof so we just filled our bottles with that and filtered it. It was a little warmer and I sat at the picnic table in the sun and called home while eating dinner. There was no one else at the shelter.
Date: 2014-03-20
From: Black Rock Hut

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

It was another hard day. The snow was still very deep in places. We left early and hit the trail. We saw the sun come up over Blackrock Mountain. It was a beautiful sight. We were sitting at an overlook on Skyline Drive when a car came by. We were very excited because that meant that Foodwalker could reach us again for a resupply. As we were walking the trail, there were no other footprints in front of us. For a day and a half we were the only ones walking this section of the park . It's amazing how many animals use the trails. We saw prints of deer, rabbits, squirrels, turkeys,raccoons and other prints we didn't recognize. No bear prints. They are still hibernating. We got to the hut,filtered our water and went to bed. It was cold but we were warm in our sleeping bags.
Date: 2014-03-21
From: Pinefield Hut

To: Stealth Camp on Fire Road
Miles today: 15.1

We started hiking early. As usual it was cold. We climbed Weaver Mountain and met Foodwalker,who brought us juice and donuts. Thank you Foodwalker. We slackpacked (used day packs)over Hightop Mountain and Saddleback Mountain. Foodwalker gave us back our packs and we hiked another half mile to a fire road where we set up our tents. It was nice to see other people in the park today. We saw squirrels and deer today. It was a beautiful evening and not too cold.
Date: 2014-03-22
From: Stealth Camp on Fire Road

To: Stealth Camp at Franklin Cliffs
Miles today: 15.3

We got up early and went over Baldface Mountain. We met Foodwalker at the South River Picnic Area for another day of slack packing . We hiked past Lewis Mountain Campground where we stayed last year and Big Meadows Campground. We also passed a little cemetery that was all decorated for Easter. We went by a beautiful spring and took a side trail to look at a door set in the hillside. It turned out to be a spring house. The afternoon was nice and the walking was pleasant. We saw deer and quail. Many other hikers were out today. We met Boy Scouts and a hiking club on Hazeltop Mountain. Foodwalker gave us back our packs at Fishers Gap and we hiked a short distance to Franklin Cliffs where we found a place to camp in a rhododendron forest. I called Bruce from a rock with a view of the valley below. The sunset was magnificent. Happy birthday to my father-in-law, Henry, who is 95 today.
Date: 2014-03-23
From: Stealth Camp at Franklin Cliffs

To: Stealth Camp near Park Entrance
Miles today: 15.8

We started out on Hawksbill Mountain. It is very tall. Coming down the trail we hit a long section of ice covering the trail. We stopped to put on our Yak Trax and made our way slowly down. Foodwalker gave us our slackpacks again. Little Stoney Man Cliffs were spectacular. We ate lunch behind a little building to block the wind. We met Foodwalker again at Pinnacle Parking. The plan was to stay at Byrds Nest#3 Hut but it was too early and cold so we headed for Pass Mountain Hut instead. The trail down from Mary's Rock was long and rocky. We finally met Foodwalker at Panorama RR Parking, quickly got our packs and headed back out. We got across Rt. 211 and were too tired to continue so we set up our tents. The Ranger Station was in view and the highway too but no one saw us. We finish the park tomorrow. It was snowing on the higher elevations this afternoon. We saw deer and turkey vultures.